


Road to Ruin

by ballofbitter



Category: Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-08
Updated: 2014-06-30
Packaged: 2018-01-07 23:12:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 32,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1125512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ballofbitter/pseuds/ballofbitter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"We have to get out of here. We have…We have to go." At the end of the world, it's hard to know what road is the right one to take when both lead into the unforgiving hands of fate. AU. Andrea leaves Woodbury with Michonne.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Speak Now

                The street below the apartment complex was bustling with the coming and retreating of Woodbury civilians as they all went to their designated places of assignment for the day, their happy and contented voices drifting up from the main street through the settlement straight into the woman’s ever-alert ears. The stoic woman sat perched on the ledge of the window, her right leg hanging over the edge while her left remained propped up onto the thin window sill to keep her form steady. Dark eyes drifted down to the street below, rapidly darting from person to person while she assumed her self- appointed position of watching over her and her companion’s belongings carefully, her hardened expression starting to resemble more of a hawk searching vast fields for its next meal rather than a human gaze.

                The statuesque woman’s eyes caught sight of a familiar blonde head walking back to the refurbished apartment complex they were currently accommodated in, her freshly washed locks bobbing as she fought to keep up with the man walking next to her. Even from her high vantage point she could clearly see the extra spring in her companion’s step, the needless swing of the woman’s hips as she threw her head back to laugh at something the man had lowly whispered into her ear.

                With a loud snort the dark skinned woman swung herself back into the small apartment, her dreads falling against her neck due to the sudden action. Loose-fitting boots began to thud against the floor as the silent woman started to pace the room, her gloved hands coming to her hips as another deep sigh made its way through her nose, her nostrils flaring in exasperation as she tried to collect her composure.

                Full lips pressed together in a firm line as the woman reached behind her head to take hold of the katana nestled securely in its sheath slung over her shoulders. Sliding it out gently she turned over the glimmering blade several times, using the intense afternoon sunlight to inspect it for any damage it may have suffered in the un-skilled hands that were not her own. With a satisfied sigh Michonne’s eyes darted around the room. When she was certain there was no one watching her she raised her arms high above her head, her body spinning with the swift and forceful motions as the blade of the sword cut through the heavy air in the room as if it were nothing.

                The warrior swung her shoulders the opposite direction, the katana quickly following her direction as it artfully cut through another imagined walker the blade stopped its motion in mid-air, its handler’s chest heaving in and out when her forceful movement came to a grinding halt.

                Soft footsteps were making their way up the stairs.

                Michonne angled her sword directly at the closed door to the room, her features hardened as the haunting footsteps got closer to the door. There was a moment of deadly tense silence before the door swung open gently to reveal the source of the quiet footsteps. Michonne’s hardened expression and drawn sword caused the blonde to jump slightly, her palm coming to her chest to calm her heart that had taken off at the sight of her friend.

                “Oh my _god_ , Michonne. Don’t do that!” she gasped, her fingers lightly placed on her chest “you nearly gave me a heart attack.”

                At the sight of the familiar face Michonne slowly lowered her sword, her palms still firmly grasped around the handle as she held it out in front of her. With a flick of her wrist her sword was back in the sheath slung around her shoulders and she was headed back over to her self-appointed guard tower. Andrea watched as her friend carefully angled her body onto the window sill, her shoulders tensing as her eyes drifted out the window to the crowded street below.

                Andrea’s eyes softened as she took in the tense form of her friend, her expression melting into one of concern as she studied the tense back that was turned away from her. Gently closing the door behind her Andrea walked over to the window, her head easily staring over Michonne’s shoulder she silently stood behind the other woman, a few strands of her unruly locks fluttering around her face from the gentle summer breeze coming through the curtains.

                Michonne could feel the steady breath on her exposed shoulder and had to swallow a choke when she realized how clean of illness the gentle breaths were on her warm skin. From the moment they had been taken in to this place, Michonne hadn’t liked what she had seen. She knew her companion was a community oriented person, and the idea of once again actually belonging to a place that offered food, many of the comforts this new world had taken from them, and a relatively secure place to spend their nights would be tempting enough so that Andrea would never want to leave.

                The warrior shivered before she gently closed her eyes, inhaling the sweet scent of the gentle air blowing in through the window.

                She knew something was wrong with this place.

                Beneath the silver lining Woodbury was painted to be, Michonne knew there was something sinister going on behind the scenes. Despite the fact they had captive walkers (which she herself had made sure she had taken care of, she had definitely needed to let off some steam), she had found all of the reassurance that she needed to confirm the feeling in her gut as more than just a suspicion near their vehicles.

                The way the man had looked at her when she held her blade to his throat sealed it for her.

                “Michonne, Phillip told me what happened.”

                Michonne’s neck snapped towards the woman standing behind her, her nostrils flaring as she angled her body back into the room, her fists clenching into the gloves on her hands with a powerful force. Forcefully ejecting herself from her perch on the windowsill the dark skinned woman gave a snort and dismissed the blonde’s statement with a flick of her wrist. Michonne made her way over to where their worn and tattered bags were sitting behind the door and tore open the top of one, her gloved fingers desperately looking for something to calm the swimming feeling in her stomach. When her fingers closed around the colourful wrapper of an energy bar the exasperated looking woman tore the wrapper off of it and began chewing loudly as she sat down in one of the old chairs in the room, her legs spreading slightly as her arms slumped on the sides of the chair.

                Michonne raised her eyebrow at Andrea’s annoyed expression and waved the half-eaten bar at her friend as she talked. “What.” She continued to chew loudly “We’re calling him by his name now?” Andrea’s ears were met with the crunching of the food between the other woman’s teeth “what ‘appened to _‘the governor’_?” she mocked.

                Andrea could feel the frustration beginning to boil inside her as she stared at Michonne’s form slumped in the chair. Her posture and tone were enough to tell the blonde everything she needed to know about what she thought about the fact she had alluded to the leader of the little town by his name were, and it irritated her at how juvenile her companion was being. Narrowing her eyes slightly Andrea crossed her arms over her chest.

                “Michonne…come on, you’re being difficult.” Andrea glared, her gaze on her friend intensifying.

                By the time the blonde had finished speaking Michonne had shoved the last of the energy bar into her lips, her gloved hand crushing the colourful wrapper in her fingers. She chewed the remainder of the food before standing up to walk towards the other side of the small apartment “Oh, am I?” she started before swallowing the rest of the food in her mouth “I did not realize getting back what belongs to me is being ‘difficult’.” She muttered under her breath, but no likely loud enough for the other woman to hear. “He is the one that threatened me.”

                Andrea’s palms came to her forehead, the growing headache she could feel beginning to make itself known in her temples. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Michonne make her way back over to the window, her tense shoulders tightening as she stared out at the people rushing on the street below. There were a few minutes of stark silence between the two women; the tension in the air beginning to form so thick the warrior’s own sword probably couldn’t even slice through it.

                The only sounds came from the open window as after a few moments Andrea took a couple steps forward, her weight shifting to her opposite foot as her features hardened, her eyes focused on the woman standing in front of her. Andrea’s lips opened and her soft voice broke through the painfully tense afternoon air, a hint of bitterness in her voice “You said you’d give this some time-” she started “-that you would try to make it work.”

                Michonne’s lips hardened into a firm line as she stared at the people below. They rushed from building to building, place-to-place so busily it reminded her of ants trapped in an ant farm just waiting for someone to tap on the glass and stir them into frenzy. With a heavy sigh through her nose Michonne turned around to face the woman standing behind her, her dark eyes boring into hers as she spoke.

                “I already did.”

                Andrea was frustrated. She threw up her hands in exasperation at the other woman’s words and walked back towards their bags sitting on the other side of the small apartment. Leaning down on one knee she began to look through her ratty bag frantically, her hands tearing aside clothes and various other belongings in her search for nothing in particular. “I can’t believe you. I just…I really can’t believe you!” she shouted, angrily thrusting a shirt out of the bag before she took a step toward the warrior still standing with hands on her hips by the window. “I-!”

                Michonne’s hardened eyes dared Andrea to continue her frustrated rant, the unbridled emotion she could feel beginning to gnaw at the back of her mind burning as she carefully watched the other woman angrily crumple the light coloured shirt in her hands into a tight ball as she made her way into a more sheltered corner of the room to change her sweat drenched shirt. Before they had come to Woodbury Andrea would have never dreamed of changing her clothes more than once a week (give or take) due to the scarce places they could even safely wash their belongings. On a couple of occasions she could even remember leaving a pile or two deserted under some large pines that seemed to dot the landscape wherever her and Michonne made camp. At that desperate time she just couldn’t be bothered to wash them when they would soak with the blood of the dead they faced on a daily basis but now that she was here she found herself changing more often for comfort than anything else.

                From her relatively private corner Andrea heard the shuffling of boots on floorboards before she narrowed her eyes at the wall, her fingers coming around the hem of the shirt as she pulled it down over her shoulders “They explained it to us.” She muttered to the wall, anger seeping into her raised voice “No one keeps weapons here. That’s how they do things.” Andrea explained again as if she were talking to a petulant child that wasn’t getting his or her way.

                The blonde’s statement was answered with a loud snort from near the window, her eyes narrowing as she walked out from the more secluded corner she had changed in. She was about to continue her heated rant about how the other woman was seemingly trying to make this whole thing difficult but soon changed her eyes when she noticed how the other woman had returned to staring out the window. Her shoulders were tensed as her eyes took in the people and movement below the apartment complex and Andrea’s features softened considerably when she noticed the dark rings under Michonne’s weary looking brown eyes.

                Receiving no answer from her companion Andrea took a deep breath in before making her way over to the other woman that was standing so still she looked more like a statue than a living being. Andrea’s right hand hovered over her shoulder when she drew near, her fingers quivering for a second her hand dropped before it could make contact with the toned muscle. Deep down she knew it wouldn’t be a wise idea to instigate any physical touch between them given the rising heat of their conversation only moments before. Sighing deeply Andrea leaned closer to the other woman, her lips turning down into a concerned frown at the woman’s tired eyes.

                “Mich...” Andrea whispered, her eyes soft as she stared at the other woman “…When was the last time you slept?”

                The warrior’s entire body tensed at the question and her stark silence told Andrea everything she needed to know. Michonne’s eyes remained out the window before they slowly drifted over to look at Andrea, her lips pursing as she assessed the blonde’s unblinking stare. Bringing a hand to her hip Andrea’s brow furrowed at her companion.

                “Well?”

                Michonne sighed deeply through her nose before she brought her gloved hands to cover her tired eyes. They were burning in the dry afternoon air and closing them did little to relieve the heavy feeling beginning to wash over her. Dreads fell over her face as she bent herself forward into her hands. It had been a couple long nights since she had managed to allow her eyes to close, too determined to keep watch over the form under the mound of blankets to pay any real mind to the darkness that had settled around her, the only light from the torches the small town kept burning low throughout the night to aid those with night duties.

                Andrea shook her head and sighed when she didn’t receive an answer in response to her question. “You didn’t sleep last night did you.” She sighed, her words more of a statement than a question as she soon came to the realization that Michonne had been up all night, probably sitting on that damned window sill like she had been for the last week or so.

                No longer hesitating to throw her arm around the other woman Andrea slung her arm around her shoulders, slowly beginning to guide her over to the bed she began to pull back the sheets and thick woolen blanket spread across the bed. “You’re going to sleep now. I’m not going to take no for an answer, hear me?”

                Michonne’s eyes drifted up to look at the other woman almost as if they were silently fighting her on her request. A hardened stare from her friend later Michonne sighed deeply before sitting down on the bed, her arms crossing over her chest as she looked up at the blonde staring her down, daring to fight her on her demands. “If I sleep now, who will keep watch?” she asked, the frustration in her features growing more as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Who will keep a watch over our things?” She muttered.

                Michonne didn’t trust the people here farther than she could throw them. She was haunted by the concern that if she turned her back even for a second, allowed her guard down for any reason, their belongings would be taken (her hands coming around the sheath now in her hands securely) and both of them would be confined to this place forever, having no choice but to be at the mercy of the sinister leader and his men. Michonne took a shaky breath as her racing mind thought back to the blood splattered over their vehicles, her eyes drifting over the woman sitting on the bed next to her, bright eyes glinting in the intense light streaming in through the window.

                Michonne’s eyes closed as the room became dark, the smell of fresh summer air quickly being replaced with the sickening sharp smell of blood. She heard a door slam followed by the deafening sound of a single gunshot before it all went silent.

         _It was so quiet._

                “-Michonne!” Andrea exclaimed, her delicate fingers shaking her friend’s shoulders with an intensity that jilted the warrior to the core. Brown eyes snapped open and shot around the small room wildly, the dark skinned woman’s breath catching in her throat in a gasp before she stared at the other woman, her shoulders tensing underneath the soft hands.

                Andrea stared at her friend in concern, all anger she had previously felt for her completely fading when she saw the perturbed look in Michonne’s usually calm and collected features. There was a moment of tense silence between the two women as Michonne’s breath eventually slowed, her racing mind eventually falling into calm with her breathing. Andrea hesitantly brought her fingers to the other woman’s shoulder more gently this time, her eyes shining with intense concern at Michonne’s small daydream.

                “You’re not fine.” She whispered “Please just rest your eyes for a while Mich, I promise that door will not open for anything.”

                Michonne stared at the woman sitting on the foot of the bed, her legs curling underneath her body as she supported herself with her left arm pressed gently on the mattress. Michonne studied her worrisome expression and sighed heavily, her dark eyes drifting towards the soft-looking white pillows propped up against the headboard. Lips pressing together Michonne sighed again; they _did_ look inviting…and soft…

                With another sigh Michonne gave Andrea a look as she angled her body to lie down on the soft bed “That door stays closed.” She repeated the blonde’s own words back to her, a stony look in her weary eyes. A small chuckle escaped Andrea’s lips as she stood up off the bed before turning around to help the warrior get settled into the bed. The mattress was a little old, Michonne’s body shifting on it uncomfortably causing some small squeaks as she flipped and rolled around to try and find a reasonably comfortable position. It had been so long since she had even slept in an actual bed, the feeling of the mattress pressing up against her spine foreign and slightly unpleasant as she shuffled into the creaky bed.

                Her entire body stiffened when she felt the light brown blanket being pulled up over her shoulders, the material lightly being tucked in around her collarbone. Michonne’s eyes were wide as she stared at Andrea, almost transfixed with what the other woman had just done as if she were a small child. Andrea retracted her hands when she saw the look reflected back at her from her friend and she gave the warrior a stern look in response before her hand gently brushed over the curve Michonne’s body made under the thick woolen blanket.

                “Get some sleep. I mean it.”

                The last thing Michonne saw before her eyelids fluttered shut was a hazy vision of the blonde still sitting on the foot of the bed, the intense afternoon sun soon fading into the darkness of slumber that had overtaken her. She slept soundly in the soft bed, would never be willing to admit how much she actually missed the feeling of deep rest you receive from a real bed, the comforting security of normalcy she felt envelop her as she remained huddled under the blankets. Michonne had never been a very deep sleeper (not even from what she could remember before) so as she lay wrapped in the warmth of the wool blanket she could hear the distant sounds of people talking as if they were some distant song playing in the very back corners of her mind.

xxx 

                It was only about an hour later that the warrior’s eyelids opened slightly, the intense sunlight streaming in through the window in the corner of the small room shifted slightly so that it shone directly in Michonne’s tired eyes. She could still hear the echoing voices that she thought were some sort of distant dream, only this time instead of sounding like they were muddled and far away they were closer now, so close that she could almost hear them as if they were in the same room-

                Michonne’s dark eyes snapped open to the sound of the hushed voices; she felt her chest constrict painfully when her heart kicked into overdrive as the sudden realization washed over her groggy conscious still blurred from slumber. While one of the voices sounded feminine and soft and so very familiar to her, the other one distinctly masculine with a deep suaveness that caused Michonne’s entire body to shudder underneath the thick blanket at the underlying malice she could hear through the haze.

                “…How long has she been asleep?” There was a small chuckle after the voice stopped speaking.

                Michonne’s eyes fought to adjust to the bright afternoon shining on her face and struggled to see the two figures standing on the other side of the small apartment. She heard the familiar sounding woman laugh, the blurry person’s form letting out a small laugh as she turned her head to look at Michonne’s body still spread underneath the sheets on the bed.

                “About an hour. She was really tired.”

                As Michonne shook her head to fight away the groggy haze from her afternoon rest she could feel her heartbeat echo in her ears as the voices started to become more and more familiar to her as the clouds of haze faded away, her eyes adjusting to the intense afternoon sun still streaming on the side of her face. She slowly rose in the small double bed to sit up, her left arm supporting her body causing her to grunt from the effort of the movement. Rubbing at her eye with a couple of her fingers the sharp intake of breath was stopped short when the blurry figure faded into the image of the very last person she wanted to see, the person that with a mere gaze could cause her blood to run cold beneath her skin.

                “It’s about time you joined us.” He smiled slightly, the corner of the man’s lips turning up into a small grin.

                She felt her chest clench so tightly in the invisible vice that squeezed it Michonne found it hard to breathe.

                Dark eyes flitted back and forth between the familiar woman and the other ominous figure in the room, heartbeat now hammering in her ears as the man’s eyes connected with her own. The intensity of his stare shook the warrior to the core and Michonne soon found it hard to actually think straight her mind was racing so fast. The Governor walked over to the same chair Michonne had been sitting in earlier and flopped down on it, his fingers coming to his chin as he glanced over at the woman still in the bed, the blankets coming up over her chest almost instinctively as if she were trying to shield herself from view.

                Their eyes were caught in an intense gridlock; neither the woman in the bed or the man staring at her looked away from each other as the painfully thick tension in the room only got heavier in the humid air. Michonne didn’t see Andrea’s eyes studying her dumbfounded expression, the other woman carefully assessing her friend’s reaction to the presence of the other person in the room with them. Andrea’s brow furrowed as her face softened, her eyes widening when she saw the clear revulsion she could see reflected in Michonne’s wide, glassy stare.

                There were a few more moments of stark silence in the room before the man sitting in the chair spoke again, his one leg sitting casually on his other knee as he stared at Michonne “I have to say, _we_ were getting pretty concerned.”

                Andrea saw the way Michonne’s entire body stiffen and she averted her eyes back to the man sitting in the chair at the other side of the small apartment. When the leader of the quaint little town had shown up at their door a half hour ago, grin wide and eyes shining claiming it was urgent that he be let in to speak with them both, Andrea had been shoved into a metaphorical corner she could not find a way out of. On the one hand she had promised her sleeping companion the door would remain shut while she slept, and Andrea wanted nothing more than to prove to the woman now sitting up in the bed that she would- and _could_ handle things for a change, but at that time she knew she had had no choice in the matter.

                Her original mission had taken a different turn.

                Andrea didn’t quite know what it was about this little place, perhaps it was the way they were all so calm and organized, acting as if the world were not overrun with walking corpses that were tearing flesh off the living and that everything was just as it had been before, was more calming to her than she had felt in the entire time since everything had changed. It was something about the people here, from the way the Milton was working on attempting to understand the walkers to the way Phillip’s collected demeanor was enough to calm down the citizens if there were a problem, it was a breath of fresh air in a world that smelled like death and anguish.

                Andrea’s eyes drifted back to Michonne to meet her alarmed, horrified stare meeting Andrea’s for a few brief seconds and Andrea dropped her gaze, unable to look her friend in the eyes. It was killing her to see her companion so uneasy and tense about this place, the extra lines she could see under Michonne’s eyes beginning to concern her deeply. Andrea had not felt the woman slip into the bed with her since the first night they had actually been in the town, so Andrea was more than positive she had not been even _sleeping_. Security for her was not the only reason Andrea had so desperately craved a place like this, she wanted so badly to see the other woman to let some of the tension in her features go and _smile_ again. It had been during one warm afternoon over the winter Andrea had actually seen it. A small, ghost of a smile on Michonne’s lips when they had found a fully-stocked basement cellar, the sheer elation she had seen on her friend’s face so rare it was almost intoxicating to see.

                She wanted nothing more than to see it again.

                Andrea’s reverie was interrupted when she saw the man’s form rise from the rickety chair,  his calming smile widening as he looked at Michonne’s form still hidden under the blankets from his view “I suppose I’m interrupting something here, and I _sincerely_ apologize for waking you, I just came by because I wanted to make you both an offer. I feel you and I-“ he smiled, his gaze still directly on Michonne’s glaring eyes “got off on the wrong foot and I wanted to invite you both to dinner at my place tonight.” Phillip declared, palms clapping together as he feigned excitement about his idea “How does that sound? It’ll be just the three of us; I even have some wine I’ve been saving for a special occasion like this.”

                Andrea smiled weakly at the leader of the small town’s proposition for them and gave a small nod, unable to explain the new uneasy feeling starting to make itself known in the very bottom of her stomach. She made her way over to the small double bed on the other side of the room and sat down, her eyes afraid to look in Michonne’s direction entirely as she kept her gaze focused on the Governor standing by the door.

                “That’s very kind of you Phillip. We’d love to.”

                The man standing by the door smirked, his bangs lightly fluttering in the breeze now blowing in through the open window “Wonderful! Just drop by anytime really, the door will be wide open.”

                As soon as the door closed behind him Michonne tore the covers off her legs and stomped over to where she and Andrea’s bags had been pushed from the door being opened. The warrior muttered under her breath as she took hold of the bag’s handles, tossing them onto the foot of the bed with a forceful grunt she hastily began gathering pieces of their clothing and miscellaneous belongings, not stopping to even look at Andrea’s confused expression at her friend’s puzzling behavior.

                Andrea flushed when Michonne’s fingers grabbed one of her lacy undergarments, shoving it in her bag with haste Andrea opened her lips to speak, astonished at the intense look in her eyes. “Michonne-“

                “Get the rest of your things and _help me_.” She hissed lowly, the icy tone sending a shiver down Andrea’s entire body at the sheer frigid hatred she could hear in her tone. Andrea slowly rose from her seated position at the foot of the small double bed and slowly made her way over to where Michonne was still haphazardly shoving things in their bags.

                “Michonne…I’m sorry we woke you-“ she tried gently but was quickly silenced by a scathing look from the other woman.

                “ _I told you_! I told you to keep that door closed and not to open it for any reason! But you didn’t listen to me did you?” the warrior hissed, her teeth bared as she tilted her head slightly to look at Andrea’s dumbfounded expression at her harsh words. The air between the two women was thick with tension for a few moments as Andrea’s eyes narrowed as soon as her companion’s words had resonated with her.

                “What is wrong with you!” Andrea snapped, her normally soft and understanding tone raising a few octaves as she fought the emotion starting to build in her tensing chest “I’ve _tried_ Michonne! I’ve tried so hard to understand all of this, to understand _you_!” she shouted, her chest heaving as she fought hard to control the emotion cracking in her voice.

                Michonne dismissed her with a wave of her gloved hand and she shoved Andrea’s bag into her arms, her dark eyes narrowed into slits as she gathered her own pack, slinging it over her shoulder as she adjusted it to fit more comfortably on her back. “We’re leaving now. Gather whatever you want from the room but we’re _leaving_.” She spat, tone deathly serious as she continued to fiddle with the strap on her pack “Now.”

                Andrea’s shoulders tensed and dropped, allowing her bag to fall to the floor with a loud thump and she sat down on the foot of the bed, her head falling into her hands as she tried to calm the new pounding headache making itself known in her temples. She felt as if she were being torn in half and she didn’t know what else she could do. She craved the safety, the sheer _security_ this place offered them, and she didn’t understand why Michonne was so eager to throw that all away just to venture back into a world where every moment was a fight for survival.

                Before she could stop them the tears started then, leaking down her face as she listened to the thud of Michonne’s boots against the floorboards, unable to look up to meet the other woman’s eyes. Andrea cried silently into her hands and breathed, a shuddering gasp escaping her lips as she gazed at the floor “I’m _tired_ , Michonne. I’m _so tired_ of running and feeling like I’m alone, petrified that any _moment_ it will all be over. I want this. I don’t want to be alone anymore.” She gasped in a whisper, more tears leaking down her pale face as Michonne watched her, her gloved fingers tightly clutching her bag’s strap as she frowned deeply.

                It wasn’t as if she hadn’t seen Andrea cry before, there were many nights over the past winter when they both would mourn the ones they had lost, fearful of the uncertainty tomorrow would bring them both.

                But she had never seen her sob like this. Quiet, racking sobs shaking her body as she fought for each breath through the tears. Michonne decided she didn’t like it.

                Michonne’s next words tumbled out before she could hold them back, her lips in a firm line as she tried to swallow the emotion building “We have each other.”

                When the other woman’s muted words reached her ears, so low she barely heard them Andrea’s face slowly rose from her hands to look at the warrior standing just a few feet over from the bed, her eyes focused intently on her own watering ones. When she saw the look in Michonne’s eyes she instantly regretted her harsh tone and before she could even think about speaking again, Michonne had already started, her lips turned down into a deep frown as she spoke softly, an eerie calm about it despite the sheer bitter tension resonating between the two.

                “I’m so frightened here, Andrea.” She muttered lowly, her voice threatening to crack as her eyes stared into Andrea’s, wide and glassy as she spoke. Andrea was unable to hide the surprised look that came next, she had only ever seen a glimpse of this side of Michonne a few times over the long winter, but even then she had never seen this level of pure, unadulterated terror in friend’s quivering eyes.

                Michonne stared at the woman still sitting on the foot of the bed, her gaze unblinking as Andrea’s eyes darted over to look into hers. Michonne’s fists clenched so tightly her palms turned a lighter colour, swallowing the ball of emotion she felt welling up in her throat. Waking up to The Governor in their room while she was in a state of vulnerability had been the last straw for the warrior, and the invitation for the private dinner had been enough to push her over the edge. She regretted yelling at Andrea, she knew she was confused and that she hadn’t seen what she had. As Michonne stared at her friend she sighed deeply, broad nostrils flaring as she blinked a few times, the desperation she felt clear in her voice.

                “You have to _trust_ me.”

                Andrea bristled at the vague answer she had received from the dark skinned woman and stood up hastily, making her way over to the other woman Andrea pursed lips, trying to keep her composure from turning angry as she dried her eyes with the back of her hands.

                “And you need to trust _me_. _Why_.” She stated, her tone serious and hard. As sympathetic as Andrea was towards Michonne’s uneasiness about Woodbury and its inhabitants, she needed to know here and now _why_.

                Michonne swallowed, she really wished the blonde would just listen and listen to her without an explanation, but in that moment Michonne knew that was not going to happen. She couldn’t lie to herself; the thought of leaving on her own had crossed her minds many a time while she had been staring down at the small town from her perch on the windowsill, but that thought had as quickly been dismissed. She knew she could never leave without the other woman, the knowledge that she had left her on her own in this sinister place would be enough to render her with enough guilt to haunt her for the rest of her life.

                After a couple minutes of tense silence Michonne took a breath, her shoulders visually tensing as she began speaking “There is something _wrong_ with this place. They are keeping captive walkers here.”

                Andrea’s brow shot up at that questioningly. She felt herself getting defensive again and crossed her arms over her chest, shifting her weight to her other foot as she stared at Michonne’s hardened gaze “…So did you. And if I remember correctly you carted them around with us for the entire _eight months_ when it was just us.” She sighed, throwing her hands up in frustration at the entire conversation “Even after I asked you _numerous_ times if they were dangerous, they turned out to be _protection_ out there!” Andrea bit back, her voice filled with all of the building frustration she had been feeling the past week they had been in Woodbury.

                Turning away from the warrior Andrea sighed and walked over to where she had dropped her bag to the floor; beginning to unzip it she took hold of a couple shirts and placed them back on the bed. She was frustrated and was on her last nerve. She was tired of being told to sit down and listen, tired of being kept in the dark on so many things as if she weren’t be able to handle things like the grown woman she is. When she heard Michonne’s inhale to speak again Andrea whirled around, a shirt in her hands as she stepped forward, her light eyes narrowed angrily.

                “There has to be a _reason_ , Michonne! Give me one good reason we should just pack up and run from this when this is _exactly_ what we were looking for! Don’t you remember?” Andrea’s voice broke off into a whisper, tears beginning to prick at the corners of her eyes burning her vision as she continued to shout “This place is what we _talked_ about, the very _idea_ of a place like this is what kept us going…” she whispered hoarsely, tears threatening to start falling again.

                Andrea stopped when she saw the look on Michonne’s face next. Her eyes softened considerably when she saw the woman’s entire frame shaking, her face hardened into a stare that sent a powerful shudder up the blonde’s spine. Michonne’s eyes were unblinking and shimmering as she stared at Andrea, her fists clenched so tightly her arms were starting to shake from the effort.

                “I found _blood_.” She muttered; teeth grit together as she spoke. She didn’t want to have to scare Andrea, but as far as Michonne she had run out of options.

                At the other woman’s words Andrea’s light eyes widened in confusion, the unexplainable uneasy feeling she had been feeling growing stronger in her abdomen, bursting into an uncomfortable shiver that shook her to the core. She took a small step backward, eyes filled with immense confusion as she tried to process what her companion had just told her.

                Michonne’s expression had not changed as she continued speaking, unable to stop the words from pouring out of her as if some sort of dam within her had broken and there was no stopping it “-Bullet holes too. By their vehicles. It looked _fresh_ … _human_. Was too bright to be that of a walker.” She explained.

                Andrea’s soft lips fell open in shock at Michonne’s words “ _…What_?”

                Michonne’s lips pressed together into a firm line as she finished speaking, a small nod affirming everything she said “…a _finger_ among it.”

                Andrea had heard enough. The uneasy feeling in her stomach had burst forth into full-fledged panic and she felt her heart beating against her chest like some trapped animal seeking escape, the beat echoing in her ears as she took a few steps back from Michonne, falling backwards onto the bed to steady herself she held her head, the headache pounding so loudly she could feel her own pulse in her sweaty forehead. Her breathing shallow as she looked up from her knees back up to the stoic woman that had not moved from where she was standing, a look of seriousness on her face that frightened Andrea so deeply she could barely think straight.

                Aside from her quick breaths Andrea wordlessly walked over to the window on the other side of the small apartment, looking out of the small opening in the wall in a desperate attempt to get some fresh air as she tried to calm her rapidly beating heart.

                As Andrea stared down at the people buzzing from building to building she no longer felt the sheer comfort that Woodbury had provided her with when Michonne and her had arrived here, the large walls around the small town resembling more of a pen rather than protection, the residents of this place reminding her more of herded animals awaiting the slaughter that was almost inevitable in this new world. Blue eyes darted around the street from person to person, her blonde locks fluttering in the afternoon breeze as the bright sunlight streamed on her face, the warmth she had felt no longer there, only to be replaced by a bitter cold she felt resonating beneath her pale skin.

                Andrea swallowed when her eyes caught sight of The Governor standing with Milton and a couple of the other residents on the sidewalk below their apartment block, his laugh audible as he gazed up at the small apartment’s window, his eyes catching Andrea’s petrified gaze as she stared down at the street below. The moment his eyes fell on her she felt her heart still it’s painful thudding in her chest, his charming smile sending forceful shudders through her entire body as she stared down at him, her lips hardened into a hard line. When he raised his hand to wave at her Andrea promptly tore the blinds shut with a loud swish of the material.

                Andrea slowly turned to Michonne standing right behind her now, the terrified look in her companion’s dark eyes now reflected in hers perfectly. She swallowed, her voice low and cracking as she fought to fight the tightening feeling in her chest.

                “We have to get out of here. We have…We have to go.”


	2. Walking the line

                The moon was high in the clearing night sky by the time most of the citizens of Woodbury had filed into their homes for the night, the torches lining the main street lit as soon as the last of the evening light sunk below the horizon with the setting sun. While the inhabitants of the town were settling safely into their beds Michonne and Andrea were wide awake, Andrea looking over the unfolded map lying on the small double bed while her companion stood at the window, her hands on her hips as she stared down at the quietening street below. The flickering flames from the torches reflected in Michonne’s deep eyes as they peeled the darkened town below for any signs of a possible threat, her nostrils flaring as the breathed in the cool night air rushing in through the open window.

                Andrea’s eyes drifted up from the map in in front of her, her movements on the thick blanket covering the bed causing the paper to make a crinkling noise as the blonde gazed at the stoic warrior. Andrea’s brow furrowed at the state of her friend, the concern creeping in as her eyes traced over Michonne’s form standing by the window as if she were some sort of statue. Michonne’s shoulders and back were taught, her gaze unblinking as she stared out the window, Andrea hadn’t even heard her move for the past half hour. Andrea frowned as she looked down at the map again, the way the squiggly lines and endless words were jumbled together confused her. Tucking a strand of curled blonde hair behind her ear she frowned at the large piece of paper.

                “Mich-“

                “We’re leaving.” Michonne’s low tone echoed through the small apartment, her deep voice sending a shiver up Andrea’s spine from the intensity.

                Andrea blinked in surprise at hearing the other woman so suddenly speak “As soon as the sun is high enough for proper sight, we’re leaving.” She repeated, her voice dripping with a seriousness that made Andrea bristle slightly.

                “I _know_ we’re leaving.” Andrea sighed, her chin falling to rest on the bed as she stared up at the other woman now looking straight at her. “Can you please come here and help me with this? I don’t understand it.”

                Michonne sighed and tore the curtains hanging over the window shut. If she was not there to watch she didn’t want anyone to be able to peer at what she and Andrea were doing. Pursing her full lips the dark skinned woman crawled onto the bed opposite the other woman, her eyes tracing the map in a similar way to how she had done with Andrea a few days prior. Her finger trailed over the paper, the nail on her index finger highlighting to the blonde a main highway that lead away from where Woodbury was located. Michonne’s dreads brushed against the map as she leaned down to inspect it closer, eyes drifting back up to Andrea.

                “We’ll take the twenty heading east. It will likely be impassable with a vehicle but we’ll make it through on foot.”

                Andrea stared at the map as Michonne spoke, watching the other woman’s gloved fingers tracing the intersecting lines and words as she tried to explain the route she thought they should take. Andrea’s eyes fell to the bed and shifted her body in an effort to comfort her more on the creaky old mattress. She found it impossible to lie to herself, she would miss the many amenities this place provided for the survivors that lived here but what Michonne had told her earlier that afternoon chilled her to the very core. Andrea would never be able to forget that fearful, glassy-eyed look Michonne had given her; it had been more than enough to tell her she needed to be just as weary as the warrior about this place.

                Andrea stared at Michonne’s finger trailing along the many complicated lines on the map. She was trying hard to remain focused to stay awake throughout the night for the sake of the other woman and sighed heavily as her eyes slipped shut before they snapped back open to look directly into Michonne’s staring back at her, the intensity in those deep eyes enough to send a powerful shudder through her entire body. Andrea blinked slowly and uncomfortably shifted on the bed, the mattress squeaking softly in response to the motion.

                “You’re tired.”

                Andrea shook her head no in response to the other woman’s sudden declaration and sighed slightly, quickly rubbing at her drooping eyelids she fought back the sudden feeling of fatigue that washed over her. “No…No I’m fine, keep going.”

                With a roll of her eyes Michonne folded up the map and opened her bag that was sitting on the foot of the bed, slipping the map inside one of the inner compartments she took her previous place on the bed, eyes drifting down to look at the pillows she pulled the blankets back, lips hardened as she stared at the blonde’s confused expression at her actions.

                “Get some rest. We need to be alert early tomorrow.”

                Andrea looked at the other woman and sighed heavily, unable to hide the tired look and small yawn that overtook her next. Running her hand through her blonde locks she nodded slightly, the sudden feeling of exhaustion that suddenly washed over her. The things Michonne had told her earlier that day frightened her immensely, the tight feeling she now felt in her chest beginning to exhaust her. This time yesterday she had been feeling so _safe_ here in Woodbury, she had been so very determined to help the other woman into believing that this was the place that they both needed to be in a world descent into chaos.

                Now that she knew there was something was wrong, the only thing she wanted to do was leave.  

                Her chest clenched even tighter at the thought of that gate being closed in front of them, barring them in the confines of this little town forever.

                Bringing the woolen blanket over her shoulder Michonne turned out the small lamp sitting next to the bed with a small click. Andrea shifted onto her side as she watched the warrior pull over the old chair sitting in the corner of the room over, the feet of the chair making fairly loud scraping sounds against the wood as Michonne pulled it towards the window. She positioned it directly in front of the open window, tearing the curtains open she flopped down on the uncomfortable chair. Michonne’s legs spread apart as she leaned backwards into the chair, katana draped across her lap she stared out the window at the low-burning torches illuminating the street below.

                The dim light from the moon illuminated Michonne’s ebony skin, casting the woman in an almost unearthly glow as her steely expression remained trained on the few people still walking the streets of Woodbury. Andrea couldn’t help but stare, studying the way her lower lip occasionally twitched to the way she was deep breathing caused her broad nostrils to flare slightly as she breathed in the sweet smelling, crisp night air coming in through the open window. It was almost as if Michonne could sense that she was staring at her as she slowly turned her head to look at Andrea lying in the bed, eyes studying her tired expression as the blonde forced a small smile.

                Propping herself up on her elbow so she could stare at her companion Andrea blinked “Make sure you wake me after a few hours. I mean it-“

                She was cut off when Michonne dismissed her speech with a wave of her gloved hand. Her fingers came down to her lap to wrap around the sword’s handle, her eyes returning back out the window as her expression hardened, those deep eyes widening as they stared out into the night. Andrea gave a heavy sigh as she settled back down into the mattress, turning over to face the opposite direction of the room so she didn’t have to look anymore at the woman sitting in the chair. The way her companion’s shoulders were tensed and her lips twitched made her feel a crippling concern for the warrior she didn’t want to acknowledge.

                There were a few minutes of silence as Andrea shifted in the bed, turning her body over to face the opposite direction so she could look at the other woman again. She peeked out from underneath the light coloured blanket, blue eyes searching the sculpted profile of Michonne’s face for any sign she could see her staring.

                “Mich.”

                Michonne heard the small whisper from the woman hidden underneath the blanket on the bed and turned her head slowly to see the whites of Andrea’s eyes reflecting back at her in the dark. She furrowed her brow in response and Andrea’s eyes drifted back down to the bed she was lying on.

                “…Thank you…for telling me what’s going on.”

                Giving the other woman a small nod in recognition of her words the warrior’s upper lip pursed as her gaze averted back out the window to fall on the many darkened windows in the buildings across the street, the only occasional flickering candle left in someone’s windowsill.

                Before long the soft sounds of Andrea’s breathing told the warrior she had fallen asleep and Michonne sighed deeply through her nose, body shifting she brought her one leg up on the chair to put herself in a more relaxed stance. She watched the flames of the torches lining the streets below, eyes glassing over as her heart thudded against her ribcage with a ferocity that made the woman’s breathing shudder at the sensation. Dark eyes drifted longingly in the direction of the gates leading out of the city for a moment before out of the corner of her right eye she caught sight of the familiar blonde locks that splayed over the pillow.

                Michonne sat in silence and counted the minutes till sunrise.

xxx  
  
                The air was silent in the darkened apartment was completely silent save for the low crooning of a song from another time floating throughout the room, the crackling noises from the old record amongst the low tone the man sang in in casting the entire place with a haunting song that drifted into the man’s ears, sending a small shiver of pleasure throughout his entire body.

                His calloused fingers tapped impatiently on the arm of his old, rickety arm chair that he was sitting in that he had positioned by the window. Large shadows cast over his pale face, shrouding his entire form in the darkness surrounding the room save for the lone pale eye illuminated by the dim light of the moon overhead. The slat-blinds covered half of the window, casting light horizontal shadows over his chest as the appointed leader of Woodbury stared out the window at the few citizens of his town he could see scurrying about, ever eager to do their part for the town even in that later time of the evening.

                A low clinking noise suddenly joined the sound of the faint music playing in the background of the darkened apartment, the man sitting in the chair pulling the object into his lap as he wound it around his arm in slow, even motions. The rusted metal of the heavy chain made a small jingle as he wrapped it securely around his left wrist, another shock of contentment shaking his entire body at the sensation of the cold iron winding around the strong muscle.

                Phillip Blake’s head fell back against the worn looking leather chair with a small thud and he smiled only slightly as his eyes slipped shut, giving the loop of cold metal at the end of the long chain another fierce tug as he smirked, his breathing growing heavier as the large links of the chain tug into his pasty skin.

                After a few moments he released his hold on the loop on the end of the chain, the object falling slack off his wrist to fall to the wood floor with a loud clank as the links fell on top of each other in a messy pile at the foot of the chair.

                Reaching over to the small table next to the chair Phillip felt around the wood surface, fingers brushing over a book and some papers to find a pair of binoculars just sitting off to one side of the small end table. He took hold of them and brought the strap around his neck, bringing the lenses to his searching eyes he peered through them, leaning forward slightly in the chair to give him a better view of the town below his apartment.

                Taking a deep sip of the shot glass he brought to rest on his knee, he allowed the warmth of the hard whiskey to warm his body as he took another long sip. He angled the binoculars to look over to the large gates of the city, seeing Merle and a couple of his other men silently cackling about something the one-armed man had crooned to the other men, his one hand slapping his knee as he returned to look through the scope on the large rifle he had positioned in his arms. The Governor stared unblinking at his men through the lenses, relatively satisfied they were actually watching the gates he lowered the binoculars from his eyes to sit on his knee as he leaned back in his squeaky leather chair, reaching towards the table to pour himself some more of the liquid pleasure into the glass.

                The record player’s needle lifted up for a second before it made contact with the vinyl again, the next song on the crackling record filling the Governor’s ears as he leaned back in the chair, his ankle coming up to rest on his other knee as he continued surveying the small town he commanded. His fingers brushed over his chin as he watched the couple men walking down the sidewalk back to here they resided, obviously confident they had completed their nightly assignments he soon realized they weren’t the only ones as a few more doors opened and shut, the only sounds he could hear the faint laughs coming from the guard posts on top of the wall near the gates leading into the city.

                With a loud gulp he finished his second glass of the sharp tasting liquid and set it down on the table next to him, shaking his head from the speed at which he’d drank it. He sighed before bringing the lenses back up to his eyes, his view sliding over the buildings and apartment blocks before it he suddenly stopped the sweep of the darkened windows when he found the one he had been searching for.

                To anyone else’s eye it would have been completely darkened, but he saw the lone figure sitting in the chair in the opened window, the light curtains fluttering gently in the evening wind as the form’s body stared out onto the silent street below them. Leaning forward in his own chair for a better look Phillip’s eye caught sight of a sudden glimmer in the dim moonlight as the light flashed on the katana’s unsheathed blade.

                He watched as Michonne’s body uncomfortably shifted in the old chair she was sitting in, her face twisting into a frown as her eyes anxiously darted from her view out the window to back inside the room, her brown eyes searching the darkness as she stared at something over her left shoulder. The woman’s full lips hardened when her eyes drifted back out the window and the man sitting in his own chair smirked, a faint ghost of a smile edging at the corners of his lips as he took in the lean body slumped in the chair across the street.

                Her broad shoulders were stiff, her long fingers curving around the handle of her weapon as she turned it over in her lap to look at the other side of the shimmering blade. Phillip studied the way her bottom lip twitched as she looked down at her lap and his jaw clenched as he allowed his pale eyes to sweep over the tight angles and curves of her body. He took in the way her dark skin still managed to shine in the low light beaming in through the window of the small apartment, her dreads obscuring her eyes from his view as she hung her head to inspect something closely on the handle of the sword.

                Phillip’s breathing quickened as he picked the pile of metal links from the floor. With a few quick motions he wrapped the heavy iron around his left wrist again, hissing as the metal dug into the hard muscle.

                Teeth gritted together as he closed his eyes, throwing his head back the small smirk returned to his lips as he allowed the chain to clatter back to the floor with a loud series of clanking noises.

                He allowed himself to recall the look in the woman’s eyes that afternoon, the way her glassy eyes were wide as she pointed that sharp sword at his jugular. He smiled slightly; the blonde certainly had a familiar-ness about her that he liked for one reason or another, her bright smile and curled locks were comforting to him in a way that he couldn’t quite put his finger on, but the way the dark skinned woman challenged him compelled him in a way he couldn’t describe. Phillip looked behind him at the three plates set out on the small dining table, the lone bottle of wine and two glasses sitting beside it expectantly remained unused. When he had invited them both for dinner that night it didn’t surprise him in the slightest that after he saw the look in the angry woman’s eyes that neither of them had taken him up on his offer.

                His thoughts were interrupted by a small, meek sounding knock on his apartment’s door.

                He remained perfectly silent, pulling the binocular’s strap off from around his neck before he placed them back on the small table beside his worn leather arm chair. The Governor heard the door knob turn slowly before a beam of light from the hallway outside the apartment shone against the opposite wall, the low crackling from the record surrounding the room in an eerie haze as the door opened further, more light from the hall creeping over the darkness shrouding the room.

                “Erm…Sir. Are you in here?”

                Phillip raised his hand over the back of the chair, waving the other man further into the apartment. “Come in Milton.”

                Milton blinked for a second before he adjusted his glasses, shutting the door behind him with a soft click he walked over to the chair his friend was sitting in, his shoes thudding across the floor softly.

                Motioning him to pull up a chair with his hand Milton slowly pulled up a dining chair to sit a little ways away from their leader. He studied his slight smile, relieved that the other man was in a good mood as he had no further things to inform him of his work. The two biter’s heads that had belonged to the katana-wielding woman told him nothing more that he needed to know, and he was frustrated with himself he had not been able to come forth with any new information.

                “Do you have anything further?” Phillip asked, his hand stroking the long chain that now hung over the arm of the worn leather chair.

                Pushing his glasses up his nose Milton gulped slightly, running his hand through his hair he shook his head slightly “I…regret to tell you I don’t. But I’m not giving up yet. I was just planning to head over to ask the woman-“

                Half of the leader’s face was covered in dark shadow as he spoke, fingers lingering on the thick iron chain “Michonne.”

                Milton nodded at the other man’s statement before pulling down the hem of his shirt nervous, fingers fiddling with the material. “Yes, of course. I was planning to head over to their room and ask her some more questions about them. If she knew them, how she was able to render them practically harmless, it’s all just so _fascinating_.” The scientist smiled, enthusiastic over the prospect of learning more about the walkers he had been examining for the past few days.

                “Very good.”

                Milton smiled at the satisfied tone of voice his friend spoke in, the small nod from Phillip giving him the rest of the assurance he would need that his plan was a good one. The man rose from his dining chair, bringing it back over to push in under the table he made his way to the apartment door. His fingers had just touched the brass knob to open it when he heard Phillip’s voice sound from the darkness, his low chuckle mixing with the low man’s voice crooning from the scratchy record.

                “Milton, while you’re there: ask them why they didn’t want any wine.”

xxx

                 Michonne hadn’t moved from her chair by the window, her legs now crossed underneath her as she turned the glimmering sword over in her hands, absent-mindedly inspecting it for nothing in particular she gave a heavy sigh as her eyelids slipped over her tired eyes. She pulled the dreads falling over her neck back and slung them over one shoulder as she casually massaged the other side of her neck, stretching in a manner more suited to a cat than a human. When her neck made a small popping noise the warrior grunted lowly, enjoying the release of the pressure she had been previously feeling in her muscles.

                The woman’s head lolled back in the uncomfortable chair, a low sigh passing through her gritted teeth as she moaned at the new tension she could feel spreading through her chest. The frantic batting of her heart against her rib cage was enough to labour her breathing and she shifted uncomfortably in the chair.

                Michonne’s head turned back and her weary gaze looked at the sleeping form of her companion on the bed she was lying on. She allowed her mind to entertain herself with the thought of getting up off of the chair and crawling into the soft, warm bed beside the other woman, allowing her tired eyes to close and temporarily forget the endless fight for survival this world had become.

                Dark eyes snapped open as she realized she was drifting off quickly. As Michonne sat up in the chair, her legs spreading her katana took its place back on her lap as she continued to stare out the window onto the street below. Her gloved hands made their way to her temples, her fingers passing over the headband holding back her dreads she tore at her hair before looking at the old clock ticking away on the wall.

                It was exactly midnight now. Give or take.

                Eyes drifting over to look at the soft hair fanning over the pillow she shook her head slowly. She wouldn’t allow herself the fall asleep at such a pivotal moment, no matter how much her body screamed for the rest she knew her mind so desperately needed.

                It wasn’t as though Michonne slept very much to begin with, even before the world had gone to shit she could remember late nights in front of her laptop armed with instant coffee and energy drink cans while she pushed to meet her next deadline, she had always had a tendency towards insomnia. But now that every day was a struggle, it was even that much harder for the warrior to deny that even she needed a few hours rest from time to time.

                The warrior was jilted from her thoughts when she heard it.

                Besides the low ticking of the clock there was another new sound. Soft footsteps were padding their way up the stairs just outside the closed door. Feeling her stomach leap into her throat and her heart take off into overdrive Michonne rose from her seated position by the window, her boots thudding the floor boards as she walked towards the door.

                The sudden sound of soft knocking that filled the room made the dark skinned woman jump back slightly in surprise, her sword angled at the middle of the door her eyes narrowed to slits, angling her body in a way that if the intruder managed to get to get in the door open, their face would meet her sword if they stepped into the room too suddenly.

                Michonne’s breath was quick and rapid as she stared at the door, her chest was heaving as her fingers gripped around the handle in her hands. Possibilities of who could be behind that door flew through her mind like terrifying slides in a never ending slide show she couldn’t seem to stop.

                “If you have a weapon, put it on the ground!” Michonne exclaimed, her voice cracking slightly at the effort at her sudden speech “I’m going to open this door but if I see it in your hands I will not hesitate!”

                Michonne’s eyes softened only slightly when she heard the meek voice sound from the other side of the closed door, the man’s voice clearly not striking her as any sort of capable threat “I-I don’t have a gun or a-anything. I just wanted to…talk to you.” The voice reassured softly, the slight fear Michonne could detect in the man’s tone telling her he was not anything that could potentially harm her or the other woman still sleeping peacefully on the bed who was obviously far more exhausted than the warrior originally thought.

                Bringing the blade down to her side she took a step forward and yanked open the door, the man standing behind it freezing instantly at the sight of the katana in her hand. Milton slowly raised his palms to show he had no weapon and slowly took a step backwards into the hall, his light eyes flickering from the glimmering blade to Michonne’s hardened features. “I...I’ll go, alright? I just wanted to ask you some questions about-“

                Michonne glared at the taller man standing before her, lips pressing together in a firm line as she studied the fear she could see in his eyes “No more questions.” She spat, venom lacing her tone as she shifted her weight to her opposite foot.

                Michonne opened her lips to speak again when she heard the other woman in the room call out to her.

                “Michonne?”

                Michonne’s head turned to look at the blonde almost instantly, still trying to keep an eye on the man out of the corner of her eye. The blonde was sitting straight up in the bed, sheets and the light coloured blanket pulled over her chest, thin fingers clutching it tightly. “What’s going on?” she asked softly, voice almost in an inaudible whisper “Is something wrong? Do we need to go?”

                When Michonne saw her companion pulling the covers off of her legs to walk over she whipped her head back around to look at the nervous man standing before her, feeling put out that he had woken her “There is nothing to worry about-“

                Milton jumped up slightly to tower over Michonne’s shoulder, pointing at nothing in particular he slid his glasses that were sliding down the bridge of his nose higher on his face before he smiled pleasantly at the blonde making her way over to the door, face twisted in confusion at her friend’s annoyed expression and the other man’s sudden appearance. “I sincerely apologize for the time…but I was actually wondering if I could ask you both…a few questions.”

                Michonne shot the taller man a look of disbelief as Andrea finally arrived by the door, her bright eyes clouded with sleep and confusion as she gave the other woman a look before pushing the door open a little more for the scientist to step in. Andrea smiled pleasantly and pushed a few strands of her pale blonde locks behind her ear, placing a comforting hand on Michonne’s shoulder to calm the intense look in her friend’s eyes.

                “Sure,” Andrea smiled, her head tilting to the side slightly at the other man’s eager expression that took over his face. She didn’t want to anger her friend again, but Andrea did not get the same feeling of dread in her stomach around Milton that she now got whenever she thought of The Governor. The man standing before them was passionate about his work and was easily excitable about what he was doing, his kind face always feeling genuine. At her word Milton filed into the room, brushing past an annoyed looking Michonne to take a seat in another small chair against the wall in the room.

                Andrea sat back down on the bed, crossing her knee over her other leg she motioned for the warrior to sit next to her on the foot of the small double bed. Michonne sat down less gracefully with a series of squeaks from the mattress, her arms folded over her chest as she stared at the person sitting a fair way from them on the other side of the room.

                Milton cleared his throat before his eyes went straight to Michonne, causing the other woman to eye him suspiciously as he stared at her “I…erm, actually wanted to ask _you_ some more…questions.” He started.

                At Michonne’s silence Milton shook his head slightly, taking the woman’s lack of response as a yes “I was um…actually looking some more at the biters you had with you and I was wondering-“

                It was almost instantaneous, so fast that neither Andrea nor Milton could have seen it coming. At the mention of the two walkers Michonne jumped up from her seated position on the foot of the bed, hands balling into fists as she took a single, bold step towards the shocked man sitting on the other side of the small apartment.

                “I _told_ you!” Michonne spat, her voice cracking again with the rising tone of her voice “No more questions! About _anything_!” she exclaimed, her eyes wide and unblinking as she took another step towards the dumfounded man. Milton had never seen the woman show so much emotion, never mind string so many words together. He held up his hand and his mouth dropped open, unsure of what he could even say that would successfully diffuse the situation. He hadn’t meant to upset the stoic woman, and he was starting to feel he was treading into territory in where he did not belong. Milton rose to his feet, hands in front of him as he grabbed his bag from beside the chair where he had set it down.

                “I apologize for the interruption. I should have not come by this late. I am very sorry I upset you.” Milton said quickly, gathering his bag before slipping it back over his shoulder “I’ll find my way to the door.” Was all the scientist muttered before he was already walking towards the small apartment’s front door.

                It had all happened so fast that the only reaction Andrea had been able to have was a confused frown at the other woman’s sudden outburst and quickly rise to her feet to run after the rapidly-leaving man. “Milton, really- it’s alright! I promise-“ she was cut off by the gentle thud of the door closing and Andrea stared at it for a moment, realizing the man was gone and would not be coming back. She quickly spun around from the closed door, her eyes narrowing slightly at how harsh the other woman had been with the man who had just left in a hurry.

                Andrea had wanted to snap at her, ask her why she had been so harsh with the sweet man that had only wanted to ask them some questions that _surely_ had meant no harm by them. Andrea took a breath but it hitched in her throat when she saw her. Michonne had her back turned to the room; her gaze returned out the window as she stood by the open window, the gentle night wind rushing in fluttering her dreads slightly Andrea’s blue eyes softened. Taking a few faint, hesitant steps towards the other woman she was stopped dead in her tracks when a low voice broke the sudden silence in the room, the gentle ticking of the clock continuing as the woman by the window whispered so quietly Andrea was surprised she even heard her words.

                “I knew them.”

                A sudden breath caught in Andrea’s throat.

                They were both silent for a moment before the blonde slowly and hesitantly raised her palm to hover over Michonne’s shoulder. Andrea exhaled softly as she gently placed her fingers down on the toned muscle.

                Neither of the women said a word to each other, the only connection between them being Andrea’s tender touch on the cool muscle beneath her fingers. Brushing her pale fingertips over the dark skin Andrea’s eyes took notice of how stark the contrast was even in the pale moonlight streaming through the thin curtains.  

                Andrea’s light hair curled around the front of her neck with the light wind as she blinked slowly, staring at the floorboards she took another hesitant step towards Michonne, her hand curling around the other woman’s shoulder she sighed, her breathing shallow as the words passed by her lips in a hushed whisper.

                “I’m so sorry.”

xxx

                The sun was already high in the morning sky by the time most of the citizens of Woodbury had filed into the main street for the day’s expectant festivities. There were a few tables of food set up in the middle of the street, bottles of drinks chilled and laid out with the food, and there was even a fairly large keg of beer amongst the crowd for those of the citizens who were of age and feeling adventurous at the later time in the morning. There were excited murmurs and chatter amongst the large group of women, men, and children and to any outsider it would look like everyone in the small settlement was there and having a good time as they celebrated not only their safe place, but that they still all had each other in these dark times.

                Michonne heaved open the door to the apartment complex, her tensed shoulder hitting the heavy door as she held it open for the blonde that followed her. Andrea was now wearing a light, white neck-less shirt after she had changed it again from yesterday’s, insisting she didn’t want to wear the same shirt she had worn on their last night here. With a small grunt she had tossed it onto the bed, muttering something under her breath about how it smelled of this town. 

                Michonne didn’t blame her. After she had regained some of her composure the two spent the rest of last night resting in intervals. The both of them were alert, rested, and both more than ready to get out of the small town.

                Andrea laughed slightly at seeing how her friend struggled to keep the door open with the heavy bag on her back and she walked out of the building quickly, not wanting to see the other woman strain herself any more than necessary.

                Andrea’s worn converse scratched against the pavement and she turned to look at the warrior, giving Michonne a playful shove. Humor was written over the blonde’s face, pursing her lips at the petulant look she received in response to her actions “My _hero_.”

                Michonne rolled her eyes slightly before  she allowed the door she was leaning on to swing shut with a loud slam, alerting a few of the citizens gathered around one of the large tables of food of their presence. A few women turned to look at Andrea and Michonne’s forms now walking towards the gates, their eyebrows furrowed in question a few of them began gossiping amongst themselves.

                Michonne heard the hushed whispers and she looked back at the few people staring at them and talking about them obviously, stopping for half a second she took a few steps in the opposite direction, her eyes narrowing warningly as she reached closer to them. The few women’s eyes widened at the look reflected in Michonne’s narrowing gaze, taken aback by the way she was making her way over to where they were all standing in a tight circle. Andrea noticed what her friend was doing and she followed her as quickly as she could despite the heavy pack over her shoulder.

                Andrea reached a hand out to the other woman’s back, her hand gently guiding Michonne back towards their destination. Michonne was still glaring over her shoulder at the whispering women, their glances even more interested at Andrea’s gesture. Her lips pressed together in a firm line as she walked with her companion down the main street, not taking her eyes off the citizens staring at them.

                “Mich, let’s just get going alright? Ignore them.” She murmured lowly so the only other woman would be the only one that heard her. Michonne gave a loud snort in response and Andrea turned back to look at the women staring them down as they walked towards the gate, the feeling tingling beneath her skin no longer one of comfort.

                Andrea and Michonne’s departure towards the front gates of the city was the new discussion spreading through the large collection of citizens gathered in the main street of Woodbury. The Governor had been talking to some of his men, a red plastic cup in his hands as he laughed at something one of them had lowly said into his ear. His ear caught wind of the discussion of people leaving amongst some of the women in the group and his brow furrowed in question when his light eyes caught sight of the two women quickly making their way towards the large gates to his town, their gaits brisk despite the large packs slung over each of their shoulders.

                “I wonder where they’re off to.”

                Phillip shoved the red plastic cup into the man’s hands, narrowing his eyes slightly as he politely excused and pushed himself through the crowd. When he reached the edge of the crowd he broke into a light jog in an effort to the two women rapidly retreating for the gates.

                Michonne’s hand was clutched around her bag’s strap as she turned to look at the other woman “We should probably find somewhere to spend the night before we figure out where we’re headed.” She stated, her eyes drifting back down to the concrete passing by underneath her boots as she walked.

                The blonde gave a small nod in response to the other woman’s words.  She wasn’t exactly thrilled to be walking back into a world where there were cannibalistic corpses waiting around every corner to take you down and eat you alive, but the feeling she could feel bubbling in her gut told her she didn’t want to stay _here_ either. Michonne and Her had held their own and trusted each other’s instincts for eight months together and they had made it on their own that entire time then, so why not now?

                Andrea turned to say something in response to her friend’s plan when she felt a firm hand fall on her shoulder.

                Her entire body stiffened when she didn’t recognize the touch to be the other woman’s walking next to her and she bristled, her heart pounding in her ears as she forcefully shoved the harsh touch off of her collarbone. The way the calloused fingers had gripped at her shoulder left her skin tingling and shuddering, the shivering reaching into her very core.

                As both Andrea and Michonne whirled around to face the source of the harsh hands on their shoulders, both of their eyes were narrowed as they glared at the smiling man behind them.

                “ _Ladies_ ,” He smiled pleasantly, his bangs lightly fluttering in the light breeze blowing around them “where are you off too so fast?”

                The blonde glared at the taller man standing behind her, her bright eyes narrowed dangerously as she took in the way he was looking at her. Andrea could see the way his brows were furrowed, could see the way his jaw ticked as he spoke. His large hands were positioned on his hips, looking at them both expectantly for an answer. Taking a daring step towards Phillip Andrea clutched at her bag’s strap tightly, pulling at it as she spoke, lips pursed slightly.

                “We’ve… _appreciated_ you opening the gates for us Phillip, but we’re leaving.” Andrea declared, her tone strong and unwavering. When she was done speaking she promptly turned her back to continue heading towards the gates. Michonne gave a slight nod towards Andrea and turned around, her gloved hand reaching over to supportively run it over the other woman’s back, her fingertips brushing over the strap of her bra slightly Michonne could feel the other woman’s entire body quaking under her fingertips. She lightly ran her hand over her shoulders, giving her companion a light pat of reassurance as they continued walking towards the gates, away from the man standing in the middle of the street, a few of the citizens watching the scene.

                The Governor felt something small snap within him and his brow furrowed at the tone he blonde had spoken to him in. He stared at her retreating form and his eyes lightly traced over both women before he let out a hearty chuckle, his shoes thudding on the concrete as he ran after them. When his stride caught theirs he quickly passed by them, turning around he effectively cut them off from proceeding any further.

                “Is there anything I can do to change your minds?” he offered.

                Michonne’s hardened eyes gave him a look that could strike a man down to his knees and she guided Andrea around him calmly, her lips turned down into a firm frown she desperately tried to ignore how she could feel The Governor’s eyes on them both.

                The Governor’s usually calm demeanor faded into his grimace at the silence from the two women. Phillip’s Jaw ticked slightly as a smirk spread to his lips, his straight teeth were shining slightly as he called after Andrea and Michonne as they were making their way closer to the gates where Merle, Martinez and another one of his men were still arming it from on top of the wall. He made sure his voice was raised to the point in which his men _and_ some of the citizens behind them could hear despite the low music coming from the group of citizens still enjoying the celebrations.

                “Was the _bed_ not to your liking?” he asked them both loudly, a smirk clearly evident on his face his eyes caught sight of Merle and Martinez laughing loudly at his words he crossed his arms over his chest, his smirk growing wider as he waited for a response.

                Andrea felt her face grow hot with the embarrassment she felt at hearing the laughs from the men up on the wall and she glared, her blonde locks whipping around her neck as she angrily glared at Merle Dixon staring down at her, his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned on one foot.

                With a loud clicking of his tongue the red neck sent a smirk Andrea’s way, chuckling at the way her face heated in the intensifying mid-morning sun “Well now, looks like I wasn’t exactly wrong back in Atlanta Mmm? Was I blondie? You and your Nubian Queen here missin’ those cozy nights in the bush eh?” Merle drawled luridly, his beady eyes studying Andrea’s flustered expression.

                Andrea could feel the hot anger begin to pulse steadily through her as she stared up at Merle, the urge to climb the wall and punch his smug face in rising “Just open the gates!” she shouted, fists balling together as she took a few broad steps towards the gate.

                Merle smirked slightly and motioned to the man standing behind the two women with a nod of his head “No can do sweetheart, boss’s orders. Gate stays closed until I hear the word.”

                Michonne watched silently as Andrea boldly stomped back over to the governor, her gaze furious as she clutched the strap on her bag to keep it supported on her shoulder. She leaned onto her toes of her worn converse, her face contorting right in The Governor’s as she waved her free arm in his face as she ranted, the venom beginning to lace into her voice as she shouted in his face. “You said when we got here that we were free to come and go as we please. And I do appreciate your people giving me the medication that I needed but me and my…friend have _both_ come to the decision that we’re leaving, now.” She started, her chest heaving, sweat beginning to form on her collar “-and I’m not going to ask you again! Open the gates!”

                The way the men on the wall and the man standing in front of her were staring at her and Michonne was starting to make the feeling of discomfort that bubbled in her stomach grow more intense as she tried to calm her heavy breathing. They were treating this as if it was some sort of game and she was beginning to feel the familiar feeling of fear creep back into her subconscious.

                “I have to say…” Phillip smiled slightly, his furrowed brow signifying he was surprised by her words “I’m a little offended. I was only trying to be hospitable…”

                Michonne could only watch as The Governor reached out to place his fingers on Andrea’s exposed shoulder. In one quick motion the warrior grabbed hold of the man’s wrist, holding it back from the other woman as she stepped in between them. Tilting her head to the side slightly her teeth bared as her fingers sunk deeply into the pale skin on his left wrist.

                “Perhaps you did not hear her. We’re leaving.” She repeated Andrea’s words, dark eyes burning as she dropped Phillip’s wrist, allowing it to fall limply to his side.

                There were a few minutes of stark silence as the people by the gates exchanged glances. Merle looked at The Governor expectantly, his lips already turning up into a smirk as his eyes met Michonne’s that drifted up to glare at him. It was himself and Martinez that were surprised when Phillip smiled pleasantly, his eyes falling on Andrea as he gave a small nod.

                “Very well then. I wish you both the best.”

                Without another word he turned and walked back to the festivities still going on up the street, hands shoved in the pockets of his vest as he padded away down the road, a low whistling sounding from his lips.

                Martinez looked at Merle for direction, confused by The Governor’s collected response as much as the red neck. Merle looked down at Michonne and Andrea who were staring up at the two men expectantly, the same glare reflected perfectly on both of their faces. Andrea’s foot tapped impatiently against the pavement, arms crossing over her chest as she awaited the gates opening. Merle started to pull the levers to the gates open, the makeshift gates spreading apart with a series of loud creaks. When he finished he stood up, pointing the blade on his arm out into the wreckage that awaited the two women.

                “Shit, not too sure why ya’ll are set on breakin’ ol’ Merle’s heart blondie, the party was just getting’ started! You and your mute down there sure ya’ll want to get your asses chewed out there?” he drawled, a small smirk on his face as he leaned down on one knee. His elbow rested on his knee and he placed his chin on his palm, a wide smile on his face. “All ya'll are welcome to stay right here canoodling in my arms, god knows ya'll would prefer that to the clammy ones that'll grasp at ya'll nice, juicy flesh without those pet walkers around, so c'mon, ya'll change your mind yet? Plenty of room for three in the Dixon bed of mine."

                Michonne’s silent, deadly glare at the red neck told Andrea exactly what she thought of the man’s words and reached up and over her shoulder for her katana. Freeing the blade from its sheath she continued out the gates without another word. Andrea watched her friend’s form rushing up ahead quickly before she looked back one last time to send the eldest Dixon brother a sarcastic smile.

                “Positive.”

                Andrea turned to go but was stopped by the sudden shout of her name. Slowly she turned to see Milton frantically jogging up to the gates, his hair matted and his forehead shining with sweat. When he reached the gates he panted, one arm on his chest as he tried to catch his breath. “Where are you going?”

                Michonne had stopped when she didn’t sense Andrea behind her, sword lowering at her side she walked back towards the gates. “We’re leaving.”

                Andrea didn’t miss the scientist’s wounded look at Michonne’s words. “…Ah.”

                Andrea smiled weakly at the man before placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. Milton’s eyes drifted down to the concrete and quickly adjusted his glasses, unsure of what to say. “Are you certain? The sheer numbers of biters out there…we are all simply safer in a community in what this world has become.” He frowned, head tilting slightly to look at the woman standing behind Andrea “No one can make it alone out there…” 

                Andrea sympathetically gave Milton’s shoulder a small squeeze as she removed her hand, turning her head around to look at Michonne’s stoic features staring at her she smiled back at Milton, blonde locks fluttering in her face.

                “I’m not alone.”

Thinking that the conversation was over Michonne turned to continue on ahead and when Andrea realized she had moved she turned to look at the scientist, a weak smile still present on her lips. Without another word the blonde followed the other woman back through the gate, lightly jogging to catch up to her the two women continued down the desolate road away from Woodbury.


	3. A Step Forwards

              The two women travelled in silence as a lone, loud caw of a single crow sounded through the slightly swaying trees in the gentle afternoon breeze. Despite the dropping temperatures at night the afternoon sun was still intensely beating down on their backs, causing a light sheen of sweat to appear on the back of Andrea’s neck, the pale skin shining as her worn shoes thudded quietly against the cracking concrete of the road.

               Teeth clenched together tightly the blonde shifted the heavy pack slung over her shoulder slightly with an audible grunt, her shoulder steadily starting to burn from the weight of it. Calloused fingers gripped at the single strap digging into her chest and Andrea stopped for a second to rearrange it, gasping slightly as a lock of her hair caught around the strap.

                Hearing the small sound immediately in the desolate quiet that surrounded them Michonne’s head turned to look at the woman trailing slightly behind her, a single dread slipping down in front of her gaze as she watched her companion struggling with the bag. The warrior’s brow furrowed in worry at the sight of her friend fighting with the strap on her bag, the blonde’s low curses drifting into her ears as she stared. She felt a pang of sympathy twinge in her chest at the sight, pausing for a moment to wait for the other woman to catch up to her.

                Michonne was concerned.

                The stoic warrior knew that the medication that her blonde companion took from the people that cared for the injured in Woodbury had taken their intended effects in a wonderful way, bringing the woman back from death’s door and clearing her lungs of the deep cough that had haunted Michonne day and night, sometimes she was even able to hear the frightening sounding cough echo all the way into her dreams.

                When Andrea finally was able to meet the other woman on her spot on the road Michonne’s eyes softened, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder to encourage Andrea to meet her gaze.

                “Are you feeling faint at all?”

                The wind rustled through the trees lining either side of the road, breaking through the sudden silence that suddenly fell between the two women. Andrea watched Michonne’s hardened expression soften considerably at seeing her struggle with the pack on her back before she adjusted it again so it was no longer digging so deeply into the tender flesh on her shoulder. Shifting her weight to the other foot slightly she gave the other woman a weak smile.

                “I’m fine.” Andrea muttered softly, suddenly finding Michonne’s searching eyes too much for her to look at. She hoisted the pack higher on her shoulder with her left hand, reaching into her belt she quickly pulled out her knife, lowering it to her side she casually started to continue on past the other woman staring at her in evident concern at seeing the shimmering beads of sweat leaking down from her forehead.

                The soft sounds of Andrea’s shoes against the cracked concrete were the only sounds between the two women before Michonne’s brow furrowed and she suddenly found her legs, jogging slightly to catch up to the blonde that had passed by her. Michonne’s own bag flopped around against her back as she bounded to catch up to Andrea and when she managed to catch the other woman’s pace she placed a hand on her shoulder lightly to stop her.

                Andrea looked back and Michonne questioningly and Michonne wordlessly reached into her pack and pulled out a bottle of water, thrusting it in the blonde’s calloused fingers before Andrea could protest Michonne pulled the cloak she was wearing off her shoulders before draping it around her companion’s, pulling the strings that held it together taught around the Andrea’s neck.

                At the look of confusion (and irritation) she received Michonne’s eyes rolled slightly as she adjusted the garment before pulling the hood up and over Andrea’s curly locks.

                “I am aware it’s warm out, but you have to keep the sun off. You’re already burning up.” Michonne murmured lowly, her hands fixing the hood over the other woman’s head to cover her forehead from the sun’s harsh rays that were beating down on them both.

                Andrea stared at the other woman from the shadow the cloak provided as she fixed the hood so it hung low around her head and blinked slightly as she stared into the dark eyes boring into hers. Michonne’s full lips were pressed into a firm line as she prodded and fixed at the cloak and Andrea felt herself unable to say anything. She wanted to fight the other woman and complain about how she didn’t need anyone to coddle her and give her their clothing, but as she stared into the dark eyes avoiding her gaze as she fixed the hood over Andrea’s head, she couldn’t help but smile softly.

                When Michonne retracted her gloved hands after she was mostly satisfying with how the hood was keeping the sun off of her head Andrea chuckled softly, averting her gaze to the cracking pavement of the road, a single strand of her curly locks falling in front of her forehead, the hood of Michonne’s cloak casting her eyes in shadow.

                Andrea wanted to say something, wanted to thank the other woman for her concern, but she couldn’t manage to find the words. Her head was pounding with the new headache that she could feel brewing in her head and she winced inwardly at the pain, trying her best to hide it from the other woman standing in front of her. Swallowing the foul tasting saliva she had on her tongue her throat burned and with a small cough the blonde woman unscrewed the top off of the plastic bottle, allowing the lukewarm liquid to drain down her throat, soothing it as she sighed slightly.

                She had replaced the plastic top back on the bottle and was handing it back to Michonne when the warrior shook her head. “No.” she said affirmably “Keep it. You need to keep hydrated.” Was all she said as she wordlessly continued walking, her pack thudding against her back slightly.  Andrea could only blink in surprise as the other woman continued on ahead and she looked around the deserted road for a second before she pulled the cloak draped over her around herself tighter, her tight shoulders starting to melt into the warmth and comfort the garment provided.

                After Michonne had given Andrea her cloak it was silent between the two women making their way down the desolate highway for quite a time, the only sounds around them being the gentle rustling of wind through the trees, a few chirps of birds hiding along the sides of the lonesome road, and the loud caw of the same crow that had been seemingly following them since they had left the suspicious settlement in trade for the unknown destination they would likely spend the rest of their days looking for.

                Andrea upped her pace to fall into step directly with the other woman, finally opening her pale, chapped lips to break the stark silence that surrounded them “Did you remember the map?”

                Michonne looked at the blonde for a half a second and could see the panic behind her eyes and she wordlessly pulled the folded piece of paper from inside her vest, waving it slightly in front of Andrea in slight emphasis.

                Smiling only slightly at the relieved looked that washed over Andrea’s pale face hidden in the shadows of her cloak Michonne’s brow furrowed as she watched as the other woman took another long gulp of the water bottle in her hands.

                “Did you take the rest of the medication they gave you?” she murmured lowly and Andrea nodded lightly, reaching into the pocket of her jeans she pulled out the small orange plastic bottle. Turning it over in her hand so that it made a small rattle with the pills left inside she nodded, looking at it as she returned it to her pocket before continuing on beside her companion.

                “The woman in the infirmary gave me exactly how much she’d been allotted to.” She began, studying the way Michonne looked at her then “but Milton gave me some more yesterday…just in case the fever came back.” She finished softly, her eyes drifting down to the road beneath them.

                Michonne’s face tightened at the blonde’s words of the scientist, feeling emotions that she thought were gone starting to fester within her as she kept her eyes focused on the road ahead, her expression unwavering. Michonne knew that it was foolish to be feeling like this when they had clearly left the settlement a good couple hours ago by now. “Do you regret leaving now?” she whispered, turning away from the other woman to keep Andrea from seeing the way her brow was furrowing at the thought.

                The air that had been only slightly tense between the two women thickened in an instant at the warrior’s question and Andrea could only stare at Michonne’s form that was turned away from her for a minute or so, completely dumb founded that the woman would even ask her what she just had. Her features hardened a little and she clutched at the strap on her bag, quickening her step so she was able to cut the other woman off from getting any further ahead.

                “Wait a second!”

                Despite the hood of her cloak hanging over Andrea’s head Michonne could still see the steeled expression in the other woman’s bright eyes and she could only manage to stare at her, her lips firmed into an unwavering small line as she took in the electrical shock that shook her at Andrea’s cool look. Andrea’s eyes narrowed and her hands fell to her hips, her worn shoe gently tapping against the road impatiently. “You don’t get to do that Michonne.” She started her tone dropping as she continued to speak “You don’t get to infer that it was _only_ youwho decided that leaving that place was what was best for us and that I just tagged along.” Andrea huffed, a stray strand of blonde hair falling in front of her forehead as she took a step closer to Michonne, almost effectively closing all space between them.

                Michonne’s unwavering eyes stared at the blonde as she continued on, the tone in her voice rising heatedly “That was a decision we made _together_.” She finished, her eyes falling to the pavement as to avoid seeing the warrior’s hardened expression at her fevered words. The blonde raised her head slowly to look at her companion, studying the strong lines on Michonne’s face as she stood in silence, her dark eyes boring their way into the woman standing in front of her.

                The shiver that shot through her body tore right through her to her core and Andrea’s features didn’t waver, staring at her friend she kept her ground as she took in another deep breath to begin speaking again “I was so glad.” She smiled weakly “I was so relieved that you trusted me enough…even just to tell me what was going on.” Andrea whispered, the defeated tone beginning to creep into her voice and Michonne’s expression softened at the sound of it “…I…”

                At hearing the blonde trail off into her thoughts Michonne’s lips pursed before she took a step closer to the other woman, placing a gloved hand on her shoulder with a light squeeze. “You’re right. I apologize.”

                Almost as if it had startled her back into the present time Andrea looked at her companion, light confusion crossing her features as Michonne continued to walk on ahead, clearing a stray dread that had fallen in front of her eyes so that she could effectively lock her gaze with Andrea’s, her face completely serious. Looking around at the surrounding tree line surrounding the derelict road for any signs of movement Michonne snorted slightly before using her hand on the other woman’s shoulder to usher her to keep moving.

                The two were silent for a few tense moments as Andrea trudged alongside her friend, the hood hanging low and effectively hiding her face from view as she absent-mindedly fiddled with the knife in her pocket, the quiet scraping of her shoes against concrete sounding in her ears as she walked.

                “I never answered your question.” Michonne suddenly stated and Andrea’s head turned to look at the warrior, studying the way her shoulders were high as she walked and the way the expression on her face was beginning to soften. Andrea’s brow furrowed at the other woman’s words and she blinked, her hand reaching up to pull back the hood that covered her face so she could see Michonne speak. “…What question?”

                The warrior’s lips pursed and she turned slowly to the blonde, dreads hanging loosely around her shoulders. Andrea couldn’t recall a time when she had remembered the other woman looking so serious. It was a known fact to her that Michonne was always serious, always so ready to keep her walls up high so that there would be no one that could tear them down to catch her in a moment of weakness. It was why she was so surprised when Michonne’s hard eyes eased as she murmured softly, her face falling to the ground with her eyes.

                “You asked me if…there was anyone I’ve ever trusted.” She muttered under her breath, breath catching for a moment in her throat as her dark eyes drifted back up to gaze upon Andrea’s curious glance “You.”

                Michonne’s words caused Andrea to freeze in place and she blinked once, her lips falling open slightly at the shock that overtook her of hearing the words come from the stoic woman standing before her. Andrea studied Michonne’s hard facial expression carefully, observing the way the thin lines around her full lips twitched as the muscles hardened into place, almost as if they were waiting for her to speak in response to her declaration.

                Blinking suddenly Andrea shook her head a little, bringing her gaze up to look at Michonne as she stared into the warrior’s eyes. The gentle wind shook her dreads slightly, the air around them growing heavy with the humidity and sudden tension that filled it. Andrea felt her heart thudding away in her chest as her lips parted to speak, her blonde curls joining Michonne’s that danced in the gentle afternoon breeze.

                When Michonne noticed the other woman about to speak she turned then, her gloved fingers clutching at her bag slung over her shoulder as she turned to keep pressing forward. Andrea saw her back muscles tense underneath her thin tank top, realizing that her companion was clearly not going to say anything more about the hushed declaration she had just given her. Hoisting her bag further up and on her shoulder Michonne continued on ahead, unknown to Andrea watching her out of the corner of her eye as she observed the other woman slowly pull the hood back over her head, jogging a little to catch up to Michonne’s retreating form.

xxx

                The two women walked down the derelict road leading them further and further away from the suspicious settlement in complete silence, climbing over wrecked cars and through debris littering the silent highway. It had surprised the blonde that they had only seen a select number of walkers roaming the street, their lumbering bodies slowed due to the abandoned cars blocking their path towards the two living stalking their way behind, over (and sometimes even under) the growing number of vehicles they encountered. The hidden vantage points had given Michonne an easy perch that she had taken advantage of to pounce on several of the walkers, her arm coming around one former man’s neck in a tight choke hold while her katana had gone cleanly through the back of the corpse’s skull.

                Andrea had stepped up on top of the roof of a red civic that looked like it had been raided possibly by other living people, the windows completely smashed she had to watch her footing so her boots didn’t slip on the glass littering the roof and front of the car. The loose strands of her hair fluttered slightly in the breeze as she watched intently as another slow moving walker that immediately noticed her movements lowly growled, turning slowly to make its way over to claw at the vehicle she was standing on.

                Her expression hardened as she looked down at it, pursing her chapped lips she let out an almost inaudible whistle, the walker groaning hungrily in response to the noise as its legs continued to stagger towards her. Andrea stood on top of the car completely motionless as she watched, the hood on Michonne’s cloak still securely draped around her pulled down over her face to cast her face in darkness. The biter was only steps from being at the hood of the car, its arms reaching out eagerly as it clearly observed Andrea was not moving from her place on top of the wrecked car.

                Andrea watched as a blur that darted from behind a truck just off to the side of the red civic crashed into the walker’s body, catching the creature off guard as it toppled to the concrete, her companion’s body slamming against it as she positioned herself on top of it, her dreads hanging in her face as Michonne raised her katana, bringing the glimmering blade through the snarling mouth as everything fell silent the moment the sound of blade cutting flesh sounded.

                Watching as Michonne rose up from the now slain body lying on the concrete Andrea’s expression didn’t waver as she saw Michonne’s shoulders tighten, her chest heaving from the spurt of adrenaline that had no doubted pushed through her, her breathing rapid but almost as quiet as the air surrounding them.

                Andrea carefully stepped down from the car and looked at Michonne, the other woman’s dark eyes drifting to look at her as they both looked around the large group of forgotten vehicles.

                “What are we looking for?” she said lowly, making sure to keep her voice low so they could both keep a step ahead of any possible situation. The silence that fell so quickly around them was almost unnerving, Andrea unable to keep from hearing the low snarling and clinking of the chains that held Michonne’s walkers echo into the back of her mind. Andrea knew the walkers had been the key to them both (and Michonne in the first place) making it out in the open so long in the first place and the more Andrea thought about it now the more she couldn’t help the concern beginning to burn at the bottom of her stomach that they no longer had them.

                “A vehicle.” She answered; her eyes peeling the many turned over, stopped and wrecked cars that surrounded them both. It looked as if there had been some sort of obstacle that had caused this concentrated wreck, given that there were still bodies still in their seats, windows broken by the walkers that had undoubtedly taken them by surprise. “I doubt we’ll get very far with it.” She murmured, swatting at a fly that had landed on her vest due to the new blood stain from her kill with a huff “but we need to get out of this area and find somewhere to spend the night.” She affirmed using a corner of a rag she pulled from her bag to begin to clean the blood off of her vest.

                Andrea’s bright eyes searched the pile of cars all fitted together on the desolate highway as if they were large pieces of a disturbing looking puzzle, her brow furrowing as she turned her head to look back the other woman as she looked over the fallen walker’s body, her brows knitted together as she rolled the body over with her right foot, probably looking for anything of use the person could have been carrying when they died. Andrea’s voice cracked, her arms pulling the cloak around her tighter as a chilled breeze tore through the trees, reminding the blonde that despite the intense early afternoon sun, autumn would definitely upon them soon.

                “I don’t think we’re going to find any cars that are drivable.” She stated suddenly which caused Michonne’s eyes to snap back up from the body she was examining to file her way deeper into the line of cars, Andrea quickly jogging after her.

                As Andrea’s boots thudded along the concrete she sighed, her breathing shaking as she fought to keep up with the speed in which the other woman had disappeared into the line of cars. Andrea breathed deeply as she kept the cloak clenched in her fingers, her other hand supporting the pack on her back. Even though it had only been a short time they had actually stayed in Woodbury, it had been just enough time for her to forget how volatile the world had become out in the open and how quick you actually had to be to get around on foot to remain discreet. While the fever was gone and she felt relatively fine, she could still feel the last bits of the sickness gnawing away at her and for now, she was unable to keep up well with her companion.

                She found Michonne standing near a white ford parked in the ditch searching around the truck, bending underneath to look under the vehicle, katana in hand. Andrea stopped her jog, fingers falling to her chest as she tried to calm her breathing and ease her heartbeat down to a comfortable speed. At the sound of her heavy breathing Michonne turned towards the other woman, her brown eyes full of the concern Andrea had seen in them for so long she was almost certain concern had become a permanent emotion for Michonne.

                “Are you alright?” the other woman asked, her gloved hand trying the driver’s side handle on the truck before Andrea nodded slightly only to receive an almost apologetic look from her. “Don’t strain yourself anymore. I won’t run ahead again.”

                Andrea closed her eyes and allowed the cloak to fall loose around her shoulders when she let go of it, her palm coming up to rest on her cool forehead as she stroked the skin to calm her swimming head. When she opened her eyes she observed Michonne back at the truck, looking in the window and bending her elbow effectively enough, she was eventually able to pop open the driver’s side door. Sliding in to the small truck Michonne looked around the cab, her eyes drifting back to look at the other woman as she stepped back out of the truck.

                “There are no keys.” She affirmed and Andrea sighed exasperatedly and allowed her body to flop down into the long grass in the dirt, the tops of the overgrown underbrush almost high enough to brush her cheeks as she forced the bag off her shoulder, the heavy pack falling to the ground with a loud thud. Andrea watched intently as Michonne searched through the long grasses lining the road, her form appearing back from behind the grass she could clearly see the focused look on Michonne’s face, her lips hardened almost comically as she disappeared back in between the cars.

                Making sure that she still had a clear view of the warrior rushing around the cars Andrea sighed, bringing her forehead forward to rest on her knees as she fought the pulsating pain in her temples. This morning she had woken up rested and ready to move, almost desperate to get out of that place that by the time there was even a debate about opening the gates to allow her and Michonne to leave…like they had been told when they got there left her entire body shaking with such a deep level of dread it crept all the way into the bottom of her heart. Dragging her fingers down her face Andrea breathed deeply, the glassy look in Michonne’s dark eyes when she had told her what she’d found still in the front of her mind.

                The woman huddled in the long grass staggered to her feet when she observed the dark skinned woman approaching the truck, the voice in the back of her mind calming as she managed a small smile.

                ‘ _At least we’re out of there_.’

                Just as she was about to speak Michonne raised her gloved hand, the battered looking keys in her fingers jingling as she held them up for Andrea to observe. At the sight the blonde’s brow furrowed in interest, bracing herself on the side of the open door of the truck to watch Michonne as she climbed back up into the cab, slipping the key in the ignition before looking over in Andrea’s direction, a small but playful smirk on her features.

                “There’s no way those are the keys.” She snorted.

                With a hard turn of her right hand against the ignition Michonne grit her teeth together as the small truck roared to life, the engine sputtering a few times before the quiet hum of the engine surrounded the two women, the sound drifting back and into the swaying trees. Andrea could only stare at the woman sitting in the driver’s seat, her blue eyes searching Michonne’s as she leaned back against the door, hands crossing over her chest as she stared at Michonne’s smug expression that clearly told Andrea she was pleased with herself.

                “How did you do that?”

                Michonne shrugged and pointed back to the road, the slain walker still visible in between the cars as she turned back to speak, her fingers curling around the steering wheel. “The logo on the side of the truck matched the one on his shirt.” The warrior explained; hopping back out of the cab to grab the bag slung over Andrea’s shoulder and hurl into the bed of the truck, her own bag following with an audible thump.  “Since it’s the only car in the ditch I figured he had to have made a run for it but wasn’t so lucky.”

                Taking that as her cue to climb over the driver’s seat and into the passenger side Andrea settled herself in the seat, her head falling back against the head rest with a relaxed sigh. Closing her eyes gently Andrea heard Michonne’s door close loudly before her eyes fluttered back open, turning her head as it rested on the head rest to look at her friend as she inspected the dashboard. Smiling at Michonne weakly Andrea reached out, placing her thin fingers on the other woman’s knee gingerly.

                Michonne inwardly stiffened at the touch but tried not to allow her body language to speak for her as she turned her head gradually to see her companion’s feeble smile, her paled lips pressed together in a soft grin. Ignoring the way her chest constricted at the feeling of the warm hand on her knee and the way she could see the way the blonde’s eyes glinted under her own cloak she pressed her lips together, her expression growing indifferent as she eased the truck out of park, her boot pressing hard on the gas to bring the small pickup quickly through and out of the overgrown underbrush to drive past the large roadblock.

                Andrea had retracted her hand back by the time the white vehicle had reached the road, her temples still pounding as she pulled the hood over her face in an attempt to shield herself from some of the troublesome sunlight. Shutting her tired eyes the blonde settled down into her seat, long strands of her hair hanging over her face as she sunk down into the seat.

                Michonne steered the truck around a few more fallen objects that blocked her past and she stared at the road ahead, her eyes drifting between where they were headed and the silent form sitting next to her.

                “…You also have to open your eyes.” Michonne said suddenly, her expression hardened “Things aren’t always what they seem. There’s always something else below the surface.”

                The woman huddled in the cloak didn’t answer her companion, her eyes simply opening to stare at the floor of the moving vehicle.

xxx

                The sweltering air in Phillip Blake’s apartment was heavy with the strained tension between the two men that were sitting in two identical worn chairs, each of them sitting on the opposite sides of the antique chess table that sat between them. The slow, rhythmic ticking of a clock sitting somewhere near the other side of the apartment drifted through their ears as the man sitting on the left of the game board’s brows furrowed slightly as he studied his white pieces, his mind completely focused on the next move that he should take.

                “Your move.”

                Milton focused as he watched the other man staring at him from across the table, his eyebrow raised as he almost seemed to be looking through him, his steeling eyes studying him in a way that made Milton inwardly squirm as he looked up from the porcelain pieces on his side of the game board. The low ticking of the clock in the background continued on drifting through the room, which would have given any one watching the game between the two men a comforting feeling as if they were watching a simple game of chess between two old friends.

                Milton gazed down at his pieces intently, a lump of nervousness forming in his drying throat as he stared at the chess board, his index finger tugging at his sweater’s white collar while Phillip awaited his decision of what next move he was going to make.

                The scientist reached for the glass if ice water that sat on the small end table they had pulled next to the chess board before their game had begun and he swallowed, raising the glass to his lips as he drank some of the cooling liquid. Feeling it trickle down his throat into the bottom of his stomach Milton looked up to see his friend staring at him expectantly, his broad brow furrowed in obvious question at the delay.

                “I apologize.” Milton murmured, brushing a short strand of brown hair from his eyes and lightly pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose “I’m a little distracted.”

                Phillip watched the other man as he took another sip of the whisky glass filled with water with a small smirk on his face. Leaning back in the rickety old chair he was sitting in The Governor brought his arms behind his head, joining his fingers together in a support for the back of his head as he casually leaned the chair back before taking hold of his own whisky glass he rose it in a toasting fashion, the ice inside the glass making a small clink as he brought it back to his lips to take a long sip of the amber liquid.

                Coughing slightly at the sharp taste that burned his throat that left a warm feeling spreading through his body Phillip placed the glass back on the small table with a delicate thud. Crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned back in the wobbly chair Phillip gestured towards Milton with his right hand.

                “Take your time.”

                Milton stared back at the other man sitting across from him and he gave Phillip a slight nod, his brow furrowed as the silence surrounding them fell back down on him, his heavy sigh sounding quietly through the other man’s apartment as Milton finally grabbed the white piece he had decided he was going to move next. The piece hovered above the game board as Milton picked it up but the scientist was cut off from moving the piece anywhere as the low clinking of a chain in the silence that had fallen over the apartment rang into his ear like an eerie dinner bell. 

                Milton slowly turned his head to the left to look at where the low chinking sound had come from when he was immediate met with empty, yellowing eyes staring right back at him. Refraining from yelping out in surprise at the sight of the small biter only a mere few feet from his face as he had been hunched over the chess board Milton simply placed a hand to his chest, his nails getting caught in the scratchy fabric of his worn grey sweater as he exhaled heavily, his eyes closing as he leaned back against the wall opposite to his chair as he tried to calm his hammering heart.

                Phillip watched the scene with a small smile, chuckling slightly he rose from his chair to walk over to his daughter, placing his hands under her bony arms he brought her up to rest against his chest. Milton’s eyes slipped back open to see his friend lightly stroking the back of his daughter’s head, his eyes closing as he fought the girl’s squirming and moaning as Penny could inherently smell the warm flesh through the thick hanker chief tied around her face, her small wrists fighting with the thin chain that bound them together.

                “Little tyke is probably getting tired.” He chuckled as he averted his gaze from his daughter to look at Milton “I’m sure she didn’t mean to startle you.”

                As he looked at Phillip holding his daughter Milton’s lips parted slightly as he breathed deeply, his heart beat starting to regulate as his eyes widened at the other man’s words. Nodding slightly at what he had been told Milton adjusted his glasses that had slipped down his nose and grinned weakly. “O-Of course.” He murmured.

                Phillip placed the young girl back down onto the floor, his hand resting on her head as he turned towards Milton. Milton could only stare as his friend placed his large hand on Penny’s shoulder, the small face turning to look at his arm as she fought with the thick cloth tied around her face preventing her from doing any damage to the tender muscle. Taking a step forward towards him The Governor smirked slightly, motioning towards the game board as he spoke “I’m going to put her down for a nap, poor girl seems to be really tired. Feel free to make your move.”

                Milton could only stare and nod, his expression calmer as his eyes flickered between the man and the little girl standing next to him, her yellowing eyes staring directly up at her father as low, muffled growls sounded from behind the material tied around her face. The afternoon wind blew in steadily from the open window on the opposite wall with a steady gust, fluttering Milton’s hair with it the scientist nodded, his attentions turning back to the game board sitting in front of him.

                “I will sir.” He murmured just loudly enough for the other man to hear, causing a small smirk to appear on his lips as he turned to go, leading the lowly growing biter behind him as he disappeared into another room before he closed the door behind him with a definite thud.

                As soon as he was sure the leader of the settlement was gone Milton sighed heavily, his heavy breath hitting the tip of his nose as he furiously rubbed at his face, his fingers almost desperately trying to tear away the feeling of stress that had overtaken him from seeing the way the hollow, chilling eyes seemed to reach into the very corner of his mind and permanently take a spot in his consciousness.

                Milton quickly moved his white piece over one of Phillip’s black ones, putting the black piece to the side with the few others he sighed deeply, running a hand through his bangs as he sat back in the chair, the old chair making a series of creaks as it stressed underneath his weight.

                One of Milton’s eyes opened wearily as he listened to the faint growls and moans from the walker coming from the opposite room in the apartment. Taking off his glasses he set them on the table beside him next to his nearly-empty glass of ice water, the palms of his hands rubbing at his tired eyes as he fought to listen to the steady ticking of the old clock over the low clinking and _click_ of a chain fastening onto the collar he had fitted and adjusted around the poor girl’s neck that afternoon.

                _There had been sunlight that day, bright, blinding light that had almost prevented him from seeing the faded text on the pages in front of him. Birds had been chirping quietly in amongst the trees swaying in the gentle afternoon breeze. Everything had been so quiet, so perfect, until he had heard the blood-curdling scream tear through the small settlement._

_He had dropped his book; the pages fluttering gently in the breeze as he had ran towards the source of the scream._

Lowering his palms from his face Milton frowned, bringing the whisky glass filled with his water to allow the rest of the icy liquid to drain down his throat, hoping that it would be enough of a shock to jilt him from the troublesome memories that had taken control of his conscious mind. Bringing his fingers back to his temples Milton placed the glass back down, his fingertips beginning to massage the tension he could feel starting to pulse through his forehead.

                He had sat with Phillip and Penny that cool night, watching as the bite on the girl’s arm had slowly but surely ended her, the harsh fever she had developed soon after finally easing her to close her small eyes to fall into a deep slumber that Milton knew she wouldn’t be waking up from again.

                Milton had been asked to leave the room so he didn’t know what had happened after he had gently closed the door behind him.

                He’d made the collar and restraints that night.

                Milton hadn’t known what he could say to his friend after he had seen the way the Governor’s face had fallen the moment he had walked out of the room and shut it behind him, the silence that had fallen over the hallway outside of the room quickly shattered by the sound of a small body hitting the other side of the door, loud growling sounds audible as the sound of fists hanged and finger nails clawed against the wearing wood. Milton could remember the cold, hard look that had overtook Phillip’s features, saying absolutely nothing as he had walked back into the main part of the apartment he had claimed for his own.

                _“Phillip-”_

_“There has to be a way.”_

_“Sir- I’m so sorry for your-“_

_Glass shattered. His loud roar broke through the apartment. “There has to be a way! There has to be a fucking way!”_

_“I- I’m…I’m sure there has to be something…we can do.”_

                From that night on Milton had spent every spare moment he had behind closed doors, learning everything he possibly could about the walking corpses that hunted each of them around every corner. He studied them, watched them, wrote about them, biters had become everything he thought- and even dreamt about when he managed to find a few spare hours of sleep.

                He knew that the lack of rest and long, hard nights were beginning to weigh on him after so many months, but Milton knew the moment the look had sparked in his friend’s eyes at his offer that something could possibly be done to save his daughter his contract had been sealed.

                Milton was starting to doubt anything could be done, and the possible answers he had been looking for had walked right out of the front gate with the two women that had retreated back into the trees. Milton had been studying the heads Merle had brought him ever since the foul mouthed red neck had showed up with the bloody plastic bag, the two walkers’ heads clearly still full of ‘life’ as they bit and wriggled at the plastic. The scientist had given the other man a look of disgust before Merle had laughed, dropping the bag at Milton’s feet before retreating from Milton’s door.

                “ _Thought I’d drop off a little gift for ya. One of the stragglers we just hauled in here was cartin’ em around like damn dogs on chains._ ”

                Milton’s hand curled around his glass sitting on the table next to him, a bead of sweat forming on his head once he heard the quiet sound of a door shutting on the other side of Phillip’s apartment as he watched his friend walking slowly back over to the chess table, a hesitant smile making its way to his lips.

                He didn’t know what could be- _if_ there could be anything done to save his daughter, but Milton knew he had to try. That’s what friends did for another.

                Pulling the rickety old chair back from the game board The Governor sat down, his weight making the chair creak as he leaned forward to study the position of the white and black chess pieces and how they were set up on the board. He was silent for a few moments before his steeling eyes drifted up to look at his friend, his chin on one of his hands as he grinned slightly, his brow furrowed in interest at Milton’s flustered expression at his silence.

                “I’m not completely sure this was exactly how I left it?” Phillip smirked, his grin wide as he stared at Milton from across the table they were sitting at “Something looks a little off. You didn’t cheat now, did you Milton?” he smirked, his fingers curling around the glass of whisky he had picked up from the table where it had been resting, turning the amber coloured liquid over in the glass.

                “Why no I would never- I moved-” Milton stared, his protest cut short by the hearty laugh that filled the room next.

                Leaning forward slightly Phillip smirked, moving another one of his black pieces over the one that Milton had just moved, the man sitting across from him smirking slightly as he leaned back on his creaking chair, his left arm crossing over his chest as he held up his drink, motioning for Milton to continue his speech.

                “I know you’d never lie to me Milton, you’re not like that.” He smirked, placing his glass back on the small table sitting beside the chess board with a small clink of glass against wood, his gaze fixing on Milton’s as he spoke lowly. “You’re not a traitor.”

                At the look that he could swear he could see in the other man’s eyes Milton stiffened, before he realized that as soon as he had seen it the look in Phillip Blake’s eyes was gone as they drifted back down to the board, studying his black chess pieces intently as he contemplated his next move in their game.

                Looking up from his own set of pieces Milton cleared his throat suddenly, his hand reaching up to pull at the bow tie he wore around his neck. The sudden sound caught Phillip’s attention immediately, bringing his body forward to lean against the table his fingers absent-mindedly played with the king that still sat on its place on the back of the board. Furrowing his brow The Governor casually rose from his seat, walking over to the table to take hold of the half-empty bottle of whisky as he took the top off to pour himself another glass, not bothering to replace the melting ice cubes.

                “What’s on your mind Milton.” He murmured, taking a swig of the sharp tasting liquid which caused his features to twist at the taste.

                Milton shook his head slightly and confusion washed over him as he stared at the other man sitting across from him “What do you mean sir…I’m alright.” 

                Waving off Milton’s reply Phillip placed his glass back down next to them gently, leaning forward to stare his friend straight in his eyes “You play with your collar when something’s on your mind. Feel free to share, that’s what I’m here for.” He almost whispered, his tone low and almost kind.

                Milton looked up and took a deep breath. Where could he start? The scientist had a lot on his mind at the moment and he didn’t know how to go beginning to tell the other man what he was thinking about. He would spare Phillip the disappointing news about the lack of progress that he had made later, the new thing that was weighing on his mind almost being metaphorically pulled to the surface of his consciousness as Milton’s eyes connected with The Governor’s across the game board.

                “I’ve just been…thinking.” He started, grabbing at his own glass of ice water, drinking the remnants of the water the ice cubes had left when they melted before swallowing “what if it was a mistake to let…Andrea and her friend…Michonne leave to go back out there? The ratio of biters to humans is just-”

                The look Milton had seen in the other man’s reappeared in his eyes and Milton silenced himself immediately, his eyes widening slightly as Phillip’s fist tightened around his whisky glass, downing the rest of the coppery coloured liquid in one long shot, the glass clattering to the small end table that sat beside their game board as the scientist watched as he calmly walked over to his window, his shoulders tensing and his silence studious as Phillip’s eyes drifted down to look at the busy street below his apartment.

                Uncomfortable with the sudden silence that had fallen over the apartment Milton shifted in his creaking chair, the low ticking of the clock sounding through the tense air almost loud as the room remained completely quiet save for his steady breathing. The Governor didn’t move from his position by the window, the curtains lightly fluttering around in the breeze that came from the open window. There were a few moments of uncomfortable silence as Milton waited for the other man’s answer to his concerns. Milton knew that he was overstepping a boundary by questioning the other man’s judgement in letting the two women leave Woodbury, but he also knew that even though he had been in the comfortable, safe walls of their settlement that beyond the wall was dangerous and he had grown to care quickly about the blonde that had been so pleasant with him.

                “They wanted to leave.” Phillip said all of a sudden, his voice low and laced with a tone so dark it was unsettling to the scientist. “You cannot control people, Milton. You remember the rule, don’t you? Anyone is allowed to come and leave as they please. It’s what keeps the order.” he finished, his lips firming as he turned to face the other man still sitting at the chess table.

                Milton’s brow furrowed and he sighed slightly, adjusting his glasses as he sat back in his creaky chair “Yes I remember that but-”

                With a look Phillip cut off his friend from speaking any more as his eyes narrowed in warning, silently telling Milton that the conversation between them was over “Milton, there are some that just don’t want the safety and security we’ve all found here. This world changes people as you should know by now, some crave the danger and the fight the open provides. _Mich_ onne and Andrea were feral. ”

                Milton’s expression hardened with confusion and he cocked up a brow at the other man that was currently looking over his black game pieces. “Feral?”

                “They’d been out there for too long.” Phillip muttered, his expression stoic as his fingertips hovered above the piece he’d obviously selected for his next move. “They weren’t willing to succumb to the order of a community in exchange for what it would do for them in the long run. They were beyond the help Woodbury provides in a lawless world like this.” He finished, moving his pawn a single space forward on the board before sitting back in his chair to look at the clock ticking away steadily on the opposite wall of the small apartment.

                As if it were more than just an unsettling coincidence there was a loud knock on the door before it swung open quickly, the back of the door smacking against the wall it was fastened to with a loud thud as it revealed a very grubby looking Merle Dixon as he sauntered into the room. His clothes were stained with a few splotches of blood and dark dirt, his smile smug as he walked over to where Milton and The Governor were still sitting at their game table, a crooked smile on his bristly face as he leaned his bladed arm against the back of Milton’s chair.

                “Sorry to be interruptin’ whatever little party was goin’ on in here, but we’d just finished patchin’ the wall out back and one of the guys told me you wanted to see me?” Merle drawled in Phillip’s direction, the deep slur in his voice telling that he had been clearly doing more than he had claimed.

                Wrinkling his nose at the smell from the other man that soon filled his nostrils Milton shifted in his chair, grunting in disapproval at the large hand that palmed its way onto the top of his head, the thick fingers messing up his hair as the crooning laugh sounded through the quiet that had fallen over the room in that moment. When Merle had retracted his hand Milton frowned, quickly adjusting his glasses as he looked across the chess table at the other man who was now staring directly back at him, certain seriousness in his gaze that made Milton soon realize that their game was now coming to a close. Adjusting himself the scientist rose from his old chair, shoving his hands into his pockets as he wordlessly gave a nod to his friend, heading towards the door without another thought. There were times when Phillip would call Merle into his apartment, have conversations with the man that Milton wasn’t sure he wanted to hear.

                “We’ll finish this at another time Milton.” The Governor called out to him, pushing in his chair as he returned to his spot by the window, his hands joining around his back as Merle sent Milton a small smirk at the look on his face.

                Giving the other man a small smile Milton nodded pleasantly, closing the door behind him as he left the small apartment, the door closing behind him with a quiet click. When the familiar silence crept up on him again Milton bowed his head, his tired eyes closing for only a moment before they slowly fluttered back open to look at the door he had just shut, unable to help himself he ignored his mind screaming at him to keep on walking and instead pressed his ear against the door, steadying his breathing as he tried to listen through the wearing wood.

                Back inside the small apartment Merle smirked as he flopped down in the worn leather chair situated by the window and he looked around the room, his eyes falling on the bottle of amber coloured liquid resting beside the governor’s empty glass he smirked, licking his chapped lips slightly as he reached towards the delicious looking sight in front of him only to have his fist grabbed in an instant by the man standing by the window that had appeared in an instant.

                “What in the fuck was that for!” Merle muttered, his lips pressing together in a firm frown as his eyes narrowed “I was only wantin’ a sip!” he objected, a clearly frustrated look on his features as he slumped back in the chair, his bladed arm resting across his lips as his legs spread apart. With a huff the eldest Dixon brother threw up his arms, sitting forward slightly in the rickety chair as it squeaked under his weight. “Are ya’ll gonna tell me what ya wanted or am I just gonna sit here watchin’ ya’ll brood out the window all afternoon.”

                A furious glare silenced the other man from speaking any more, the steeling eyes of Phillip Blake enough to silence even Merle Dixon as he averted his gave back to the gentle fluttering of the curtains dancing in the afternoon wind blowing in through the window.

                “Find them.” The low voice said suddenly, the man standing by the window’s body completely still as he stared at the busy street below his window, his eyes fixated on the now empty apartment just across the street from his own, the window left open to let the curtains sway in the steady breeze.

                Forgetting quickly about the whisky Merle had turned his attentions to the blade on his arm, turning it over so that he could inspect it in the light streaming in through the window The Governor stood by. “Who?”

                Merle jumped slightly when he saw the other man whirl around to face him, a furious look on his sculpted features. Before the red neck could think carefully about he was saying he cocked up a brow in question, his teeth chewing on his tongue as he gave the other man a look of confusion at his words. “Who are we talkin’ about here.” He stated, his tongue passing over his teeth as he continued to study his bladed arm.

                A sudden smack against the wall jilted Merle from his trance, his eyes drifting up to look at the other man’s hardened eyes staring directly at him.

                “Your little _friend_ , which you didn’t feel was necessary to mention to myself that you knew.” Phillip hissed, pulling the top off of the bottle of whisky again before he emptied some into his empty glass, not bothering to add anymore ice cubes as he sipped it, slamming the glass back on the table with a loud thud of glass against wood.

                Merle laughed heartily at the other man’s tone, clearly not getting the hint that his ‘commander in chief’ was not pulling his leg. Smirking Merle brought his arm across his chest, looking up at the other man expectantly “Ya mean blondie and her little snuggle muffin’ that went runnin’ back into the woods?” Merle questioned; the smirk on his features snide as he eyed Phillip where he had returned to his spot by the open window. “Looked like to me anyhow that those two were itchin’ to mosey on boss. Don’t know why you’d want to-”

                Merle was instantly cut off with the sound of a loud smack of flesh against glass as Merle looked up to see a small crack had formed in the window pane Phillip was standing by, his stature eerily calm as he continued to stare out the window at the people buzzing past on the main street through the small town he headed. There were a few long minutes of stark silence as Merle simply stared, his form completely silent as if he were nervous about moving a muscle in case it would prompt another sudden reaction from the other man.

                “ _Find them_.”

                Merle bristled, his features confused as he struggled to wrap his clouded mind at just what the other man was asking him to do. “Find ‘em and then what?”

                “Bring back the heads.”

                At the other man’s words Merle’s entire form stiffened, his hardened eyes softening only a fraction as he fought the bothersome twinge of something that was biting at the very at the very pit of his stomach at the task he had just been assigned. Merle shifted in the worn chair he was sitting in that Milton had previously been sitting in. Clearing his throat of the lump that had suddenly appeared Merle stood from his seat, studying how tense the other man’s shoulders were.

                It wasn’t as if he hadn’t been assigned the particular task before, but there was a small voice in the back of Merle’s head that scolded him no matter how quiet it was that what he had been requested to do was wrong. The blonde’s charming mess of curls and the way she would turn up her lip at anyone that annoyed her entered the very back of his mind and made the feeling in the pit of his stomach grow, causing him to uncomfortably shift in the chair he was sitting in.

                The eldest Dixon brother opened his mouth to speak, but as if it were the other man could sense that he was going to and his low tone sounded through the tensely silent air as The Governor’s words drifted through the heavy air to enter his ears as the steady ticking of the clock on the wall continued to ring through the small apartment, the steady noise giving the whole scene a normal, secure feeling despite how dark the conversation going on behind closed doors was.

                With the silent, affirmative nod he gave the man he owed his life to convey that he understood his desires Merle watched as the whisky he had been eyeing since he had come into the room was slowly poured into a spare glass, the sharp smelling amber coloured liquid reaching the very top of the glass as Phillip topped up his own glass, raising it above his head as both men sat in the two worn chairs, both drinking their own allotment of the alcohol in silence.

                In a small room behind a locked door the almost unearthly glow from lighted fish tanks filled the hushed room, the low sounds of water bubbling on the surface of the tanks creeping over the heavy silenced that blanketed the room.

                On the very end of the row of many tanks filled with the silhouettes of heads there was a lone, empty tank just big enough for two.

xxx

                The dark skinned woman dug through the bag she was holding, her gloved fingers closing around the scratchy blanket as her dark eyes drifted over to the small form huddled in the shadowy corner under the cloak Michonne had lent her earlier that afternoon when they had been just leaving the unsettling town they had come from. Sighing deeply through her nose the warrior rose to her knees, her worn boots easing her body to her feet as she directed her eyes back to her bag.

                Moving aside a few garments of clothing Michonne’s fingers closed around a couple cans of various canned fruit, allowing the ratty tote to fall back to the concrete floor of the garage with a small thud as she reached into her bigger bag, pulling out the thick blanket stuffed at the bottom of the bag before she nestled the cans in her arms, taking spoons, the blanket, and the cans over to where the other woman was nestled in the darkened corner of the garage, her shoulders folded over her chest as she tightly held the corners of Michonne’s cloak close to her chest, her mess of blonde curls cascading down her shoulders as she hid her face with the hood of the garment around her shoulders pulled down over her face.

                Michonne’s lips turned down into a frown as she silently leaned back down to the cold concrete floor of the garage they were currently resting in, her dreads falling forward to corner her vision so that she was unintended only staring at her friend in front of her, assessing the way the gentle breathe falling from her pink, chapping lips was steady.

                ‘ _Colour_.’ The warrior’s mind pointed out to her. For so many months it had seemed the colour had been completely gone from the blonde’s face, her porcelain skin completely drained of the life Michonne had remembered being able to see from the night they had found one another, the way the familiar blue eyes were bright with determination and the way her cheeks were flushed from her several hour run even on that frigid night.

                The white Ford was currently parked in the ditch outside of the garage; Michonne had angled it into the long grasses lining the desolate high way so that it would draw less attention to anyone (dead or living) that happened to pass by. Michonne had spotted the garage after about an hour or so driving away from the troublesome settlement, feeling secure in the amount of distance there was now between them and the place they had left behind to secure it and rest for the night.

                After dragging a lone walker out of the building that had been hiding in the shadows to sit outside the back door, Michonne had spread a few pieces of Andrea’s and her own spare clothing in the corner of the garage to create a softer surface to rest on than the cold, unforgiving concrete the garage provided them.

                Leaning against the wall on the spread out clothing she had set up Michonne grunted slightly, pulling both tabs off of the cans to drag them back and off the cans before she slipped a worn looking spoon into Andrea’s can. The sound of Andrea’s steady breathing had told Michonne that she had not been sleeping, the erratic breaths different from the slow, soft ones the other woman usually made when she slept.

                Andrea’s hands reached out from underneath the cloak, her fingers closing around the tin can of fruit before she brought it up to her chest, dark eyes watching her movements as the first drips of the overly-sweet fruit trickled down Andrea’s chin.

                “The colour is back in your lips.”

                Andrea completely stopped from taking another bite of the fruit, her head turning slightly so Michonne was able to see the perplexed look on her friend’s face from underneath her cloak. After receiving only the silent look as a response to her observation Michonne shrugged slightly, dipping her spoon in between the lumps of fruit in her own can beginning to stir it slowly.

                “They’ve been pale.”

                Shifting her tired body on the small pile of their clothes Andrea chuckled dryly, pulling the spoon back into her mouth, a few strands of blonde locks falling forward over her forehead as she smiled slightly down into her fruit, mimicking Michonne’s actions of beginning to turn over the sloppy looking food.

                “Thanks Mich… _really_. I’m flattered.” She smiled at the other woman, a faint hint of humor in her tone.

                The two women didn’t speak for the remainder of their meal; Andrea handing over her empty can over to Michonne, who placed them both to the side of their make-shift bed before she sat back against the wall, her wrists resting on her knees as she stared at the ceiling, her dreads hanging around her head that hung forward slightly.

                The silence in the garage could only be described as deafening.

                The two women sat in complete hushed silence, Michonne staring at the floor while Andrea pulled the hood over her head again, her face immediately cast in shadow as she clutched at the cloak in a desperate attempt to bring it closer to her shivering body. The concrete was cold and hard, even with Michonne’s efforts to bring them both some comfort and the blonde sighed, her body falling against the wall as her boots curled underneath her.

                Michonne was just about to move when she heard the small sound coming from the woman huddled under the cloak. Dark eyes drifted towards the sight and cautiously Michonne eased her body over to the other woman, gingerly pulling back the hood from Andrea’s face to see the fresh tears streaming down her red cheeks glinting in the new moonlight that drifted through the small window high on the wall of the garage.

                Stoic features that were usually so firm softened at the sight, the warrior’s brow furrowing as she tilted her head slightly to assess the situation. Retracting her hands from Andrea’s face Michonne frowned, not only confused by the quick change in the other woman but unsure of what she should do. These were the second set of tears Andrea had shed in a matter of days and Michonne didn’t like it.

                She definitely didn’t like it.

                Calming her tears effectively enough so that she could open her eyes without them stinging Andrea sniffed, using the sleeve of the sweater she had put on upon arriving at the garage to wipe at her eyes and nose before she brought her arms around her knees, staring forwards into the darkness covering the other end of the garage as she visually gulped, her lips parting slightly as the tears continued to stream down her face.

                Michonne was silent as she waited for the blonde to speak, discretely sitting back down closer to her friend on the small pile of their clothes as she awaited her words, elbows resting on her knees as she tried hard not to look at Andrea.

                “Michonne,” Andrea spoke suddenly, her voice soft and wavering slightly as she fought against the tears still threatening to fall at any time “do you…think I’m too trusting…naïve?”

                Michonne’s brow furrowed and she blinked slowly, her eyes trained on the lumpy pile of clothes they were both sitting on “Why would you say that?” she murmured, her tone low in a hope it would comfort the other woman’s nerves.

                Andrea shifted her position on the floor, her arms bringing Michonne’s cloak tightly around her chest as she wiped at her eyes with her sleeve again, the whites of her bright eyes hinted red “I was just…I was so ready to stay _there_ …” Andrea trailed off, her voice breaking off into a pained whisper.

                At the allusion to the dangerous place that they had left earlier that day and Andrea’s admission of how she would have stayed Michonne bristled internally, her heart beat speeding up in her ears as the other woman continued to speak.

                Andrea breathed deeply, her chest staggering with her breaths as she fought the tears, her gaze drifting over to look at her companion “I’m just so…tired.” She started, the sob coming back into her weakened voice “am I naïve for thinking…hoping…there’s still something out there for us?” she sobbed, her entire body hunching over as another wrack of heaving, dry sobs overtook her. “I just…I want us to be _safe_ …nowhere is safe…”

                The sound of the choking sobs that had come from Andrea then had been enough for Michonne to hear and without warning the stoic woman gently guided lifted her gloved hand to guide her face towards her own, making sure the other woman was watching her as she spoke, her brows knitted together in concern at the steady tears that were still trailing Andrea’s hot cheeks.

                “You’re not naïve. You have hope.”

                Michonne realized her words had been heard clearly enough as Andrea’s tearful expression was completely trained on her sympathetic one in the moment. Michonne retracted her fingers from Andrea’s chin, leaning her strong shoulders back against the wall of the garage as she continued so speak; her lips pressed together in a serious line, hoping her words would be enough to still the blonde’s heart wrenching sobs “that hope is a part of who you are.” Michonne murmured softly, her speech coming out in more of a mumble than a clear sentence. Michonne was concerned Andrea hadn’t even heard what she said.

                The look in Andrea’s eyes told her differently.

                Michonne’s deep eyes studied Andrea’s before she spoke again, the inherent sadness that had been in her eyes just a moment before was now replaced with a touched look that reflected back at her as the blonde waited silently for her to continue speaking. Michonne sighed slightly through her nose before she swallowed, the large lump of emotion that she could feel there becoming hard to speak with.

                Sweat ran down her face as she spoke, still watching Andrea’s face out of the corner of her eye carefully “-you trust because you want to see the good in people and believe there is still good _left_ in this world.” Michonne finished, her deep tone trailing off into a hushed whisper.

                Andrea stared at Michonne, her eyes that felt so dry from the tears caused her brain to scream at her to blink but Andrea couldn’t seem to find the energy. She felt as if someone had torn her open, all of the raw emotion spilling out of her was now bared for the entire world to see and there were thousands of people watching. The other woman’s words warmed her heart and left her speechless, she couldn’t even remember a time when Michonne had actually been this open-

                _About her._

                Andrea could only watch as her friend continued to speak gently, the warrior’s body slumped against the dingy wall of the garage as closed her dark eyes that still managed to shine in the dim light that surrounded them, the sight endearing for Andrea to see as she listened intently, tears still glinting at the corners of her eyes.

                “That doesn’t make you weak, it makes you strong: a good person.” Michonne finished, her eyes fluttering back open to take in the vision of her friend staring back at her, her shoulders visibly shaking and her bottom lip quivering.

                It didn’t take long for it to happen but the sudden movement still caught Michonne off guard.

                After hearing a muted, almost inaudible whimper from the other woman Andrea had pushed under Michonne’s strong arm, bringing the taught muscle around her shoulders to hang in front of her, turning her body slightly so she was able to fit securely under her friend’s arm as she buried her face into the other woman’s vest that she still wore, her long strands of hair falling over her face as she eased her body closer to the warm one she pushed herself against.

                Michonne stiffened at first, but her tense muscles quickly relaxed as to not give the other woman the impression the request for her comfort would go un-answered. Tightening the hold she held over Andrea’s shoulders Michonne leaned down, her broad nose resting against Andrea’s sweaty forehead as small strands of blonde hair tickled her dark skin.

                Without a single word Michonne reached over for the blanket she had left at the foot of the make-shift bed, unfolding the scratchy blanket as best she could with one arm she pulled it around both of their bodies, making sure to secure it around Andrea’s body that leaned closely into her own.

                Tucking it gingerly around Andrea’s shoulder Michonne inwardly sighed, her eyes closing gently at the small sound she heard from the blonde huddled under the blanket.

                “Mich, what are we going to do.” Andrea whispered softly, the trace of the sorrow she had been feeling still in her weakened voice.

                Michonne’s eyes opened at the other woman’s words slightly, tightening her grip on Andrea’s shoulder as she eased them both down onto the makeshift bed.

                “We’ll be alright.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fourth chapter is in the works, it should be up soon (: Hope you've enjoyed so far!


	4. Desolate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp. Better late than never right?

                Michonne awoke to the sound of complete silence.

                Silence had fallen over the deserted garage the women had slept in as the warrior‘s eyes fluttered open to see the first rays of sun streaming through the small window above them and she looked up from the makeshift bed she had created the previous night, the slightly uncomfortable sensation of balled up clothing underneath her body causing her to grunt slightly as she tried to gently roll over so that she could ease herself up.

                Michonne stopped herself however when she felt the thin arm draped over her abdomen, the thin fingers clenching at the material of the leather vest she still wore tightly.

                At the sight of the hand clutching at her vest Michonne’s brow furrowed slightly in confusion at the action, turning her attentions to the other woman who was still sleeping huddled under the old, dusty blanket that was wrapped carefully around both of their bodies. Looking down at the body that still lay next to her Michonne’s lips hardened into a firm line as she stared, her dark eyes however remaining soft as she took in the vision of the way her friend was clutching the edge of the blanket under her chin with her other hand, her messy blonde locks covering her face as soft breath rose and fell from her soft, parted lips.

                 Michonne was silent as she stared at Andrea’s form huddled under the blankets, her brow furrowing as she looked away from the blonde, ignoring the way her stomach twisted as she turned her head to look at the hard concrete floor they had slept on, not hesitating another minute to gently ease the blonde’s hand off of her abdomen before gently placing it by Andrea’s side.

                After watching the still form for a few seconds longer Michonne pulled the ratty blanket off of her, gently easing herself up from the floor before she walked to where their bags were sitting next to the pile of bunched up clothes Andrea was still sleeping on she shoved her arm into the small pack, fiddling around underneath the miscellaneous items in the smaller bag until her fingers closed around what she was looking for.

                Pulling the canister out of the bag Michonne stared at it for a moment, turning it over in her gloved fingers the small pills inside rattled slightly against each other, the sound cutting through the eerie silence that blanketed the abandoned garage.

                Wincing slightly at the sudden sound Michonne looked over at the mound of blanket that covered the other woman shift slightly before a low, long sigh sounded from the woman still huddled underneath before a weakened sounding cough drifted into her ears. Quickly shoving the pills back in the pack Michonne turned her attentions to another compartment of the bag, calmly pulling a single can of probably off date beans out she placed them on the cold concrete before she began to open the dull looking can with a can opener she had left out from the previous night.

                Andrea’s eyes opened wearily to the bright sunlight streaming in from the high window on the garage wall, shutting them again hastily when the painful burn of the light caught her eyes the blonde winced, pulling the blanket back over her head almost dramatically at the beams of light that cascaded down from the high window to fall onto the scratchy blanket, the small groan coming from underneath it causing the warrior fiddling with the can of beans in her hands to shake her head slightly.

                “Did I wake you?” Michonne murmured lowly, her lips moving slowly as she spoke before her eyes fixed on the blanket shifting slightly as the other woman moved underneath it.

                The sound of the blanket shifting again caused Michonne to look back over from the can of beans, her eyebrow raised in question as Andrea slowly brought the blanket down to expose her forehead, her significantly brighter eyes staring at the warrior down as Andrea’s gaze flickered to the can of beans before averting back up to stare at her friend questioningly.

                “Five more minutes?”

                Michonne didn’t answer the other woman, simply reaching for the can opener that was sitting next to her left knee before she attached it to the side of the dulled can, beginning to turn the crank so that the can began to spin in her hands slowly from the effort, the lid coming off slowly in her hands before she gently set it on the concrete next to where she was sitting. Just as silently as she had opened the can Michonne reached for the spoons she had put back in the bag of supplies last night, shoving the matte finished spoons into the can of beans with an unpleasant squishing noise before she pulled out a few, eagerly taking them between her teeth before her eyes made contact with Andrea’s.

                Rolling her eyes at the other woman’s silence Andrea sat up on the makeshift bed, her arms reaching out in a deep stretch before the blonde grunted, the small pop sounding through the empty garage so much that she winced, biting her lip slightly she smiled at the other woman.

                “Yeah,” Andrea murmured quietly, pulling the blanket off her legs before she rose to her feet, repeating her stretch as she winced “You did wake me, but better you than walkers if I’m being completely honest.” She muttered sleepily, making her way over to her own bag she zipped it open, digging through the collection of her own clothes before she settled on a thicker, well-worn woolen sweater.

                Michonne’s dark eyes looked up from the can of beans in her gloved hand and paused, her spoon hovering in mid-air as she watched the other woman slowly take off her cloak that was still tied tightly around her shoulders allowing it to fall to the pile of their clothes still on the floor. Realizing Andrea’s next movements were to ease the neck less white shirt over her head Michonne averted her eyes back to her can of chewy beans, spooning some more of the lumpy mash between her teeth before she chewed slowly, making sure to keep her gaze to the few cracks in the garage floor until she could sense the thick, fraying sweater had been pulled down and over the blonde’s shoulders.

                As she dug her spoon deep into the mess Michonne’s lips hardened as she studied the cracks in the concrete, absent-mindedly stirring the beans to the bottom of the dulled can. Shifting uncomfortably on the floor she was sitting on Michonne chewed on her tongue in between the last mouthful of beans she had taken into her mouth, setting the can down next to her as she reached for a bottle of water that’s neck was poking out of Andrea’s bag.

                Unscrewing the cap she tilted the water bottle back to her lips, only allowing a small amount of the temped water to drain down her throat before she put the cap back on, shoving it back in Andrea’s bag as she settled back on the garage floor.

                The way Michonne’s stomach was still swimming left her uncomfortable.

                Sighing heavily through her nose Michonne dismissed her thoughts; the beans must have been more off than she’d originally thought.  

                Andrea looked at the other woman intently, adjusting her thick sweater over her shoulders before she leaned down to the floor of the garage, the coolness of the hard cement floor seeping through her cargoes and into her skin to make the blonde shiver at the sudden cold, her face wincing as she grabbed at the discarded blanket on the floor, pulling it back over her shoulders she looked at her friend, her blue eyes eyeing the unfinished can of foul tasting beans on the floor.

                Michonne seemed to understand what she was after and she gave the other woman a nod in recognition, her dreads falling forwards in front of her face as she gave the other woman the can, turning back to the makeshift bed to begin shoving the pile of their clothes back into their bags.

                “Michonne I can’t…this is yours-” Andrea started to protest but was quickly cut off with the look Michonne gave her, her eyes staring up at the other woman as she assessed the look she’d received.

                “I’ve had my fill.” She explained, her eyes directed downwards at the clothes she was quickly shoving back into Andrea’s bag they had slept on “You need the energy more than I do.”

                Andrea smiled slightly at that, it was something that she’d noticed within the first few months of actually being on their own together, the warrior was always doing small things like that. Whether it was agreeing to share her sleeping bag or her food, eventually accepting others gut judgements, it never failed to touch the blonde’s heart in a way she couldn’t manage to really tell the other woman. For someone that had lost a lot (quite a bit she still didn’t know, she realized as she stirred the can of beans) Michonne’s subtle generosity still managed to pleasantly surprise her.  

                "Why do you think the coast will be safe?" Andrea found herself suddenly murmuring, raising the spoon in her hand to shove some of the foul tasting beans in her mouth “How do you know?”

                The warrior’s back tensed at the blonde’s sudden question, her head turning only slightly to gaze over her shoulder at Andrea, her lips pressed into a hard, firm line as she messily folded and shoved their clothes back into their bags.

                Feeling Andrea’s eyes on her Michonne sighed when she finished, placing the bags back down beside each other on the floor of the garage she spoke suddenly, her eyes fixed on the clothes as she worked “I don’t.” she said suddenly, her dreads bumping against her cheeks as she worked “But there are smaller towns. We wouldn’t be completely surrounded at all times.” She explained, turning to look at the blonde that was now looking at her intently “Since there would be less people, less walkers.” She explained, shoving the last shirt back in her own bag before she folded the top over, securing it in place as she turned back to watch Andrea as she picked at the can of beans.

                “The open water-” She stated all of a sudden causing Andrea to pause eating another mouthful of the beans to stare at her quizzically “-you’re skilled at catching fish. It could prove to be a renewable source of food. We wouldn’t have to rely just on cans.” The warrior continued; her eyes blinking slowly as Andrea saw her drift away from the current physical place of the garage. It was almost as if she were seeing it before her very eyes, the deep orbs shining with something that Andrea didn’t recognize in her friend, the small light she could see burning behind Michonne’s unblinking eyes enough to cause a small smile to appear on her lips.

                Andrea smiled as she stared down at her unfinished can of beans, fidgeting with the dulled spoon squishing through the can her curly locks falling forward as she tried to hide how wide her smile had actually become at picturing it herself.

                “It would be just us.” She murmured quietly after a few moments of the mental scenery had taken her away, the words almost falling off her pale lips before she even thought about what they would do.

                Michonne stopped at Andrea’s words, a ghost of a smile playing at her own lips dying before Andrea could even see it “I guess so.”

                There were a few minutes of stark silence between the two women sitting on the floor of the abandoned garage, the quiet clinks of Andrea’s spoon against the edges of the can of beans being the only sounds before the blonde had finished her half of the can, placing it down on the concrete floor beside her, licking at the spoon slightly before it followed. Rising from her place Andrea stretched her arms out, the small pop following causing her to grunt as she leaned down to place her fingers tenderly on her friend’s shoulder, Michonne’s body stiffening as Andrea’s fingers caressed her dark skin.

                “I’m fine with that.” Andrea murmured quietly, giving Michonne’s shoulder a single squeeze as she walked past the other woman still seated on the concrete floor, bending down to grab hold of the water bottle that was sticking out of her bag.

                The water bottle hit the floor with a small thud as Andrea leaned forward suddenly, her chest shaking with her cough that echoed throughout the garage, her shoulders slouching over as she covered her mouth with her fist, sputtering a few more times before she looked up at Michonne she smiled weakly, making eye contact with the other woman only for a second before she bent down to pick up her bag, one more cough shaking her form before she dropped the bag as well, Michonne rising from her spot on the floor almost immediately to rush over to her friend, gently rubbing at the blonde’s upper back, her brow furrowed as Andrea chuckled dryly.

                “…Sorry,” Andrea smiled slightly, coughing a little to clear her throat before she looked back at Michonne “I guess the cough’s still there a little.” She grinned sheepishly, clearing her throat once before she went back to pick up her bag from the garage floor.

                Michonne stared at her companion as she took a few strides from her, quickly deciding to follow Andrea she grabbed at the strap on her bag, her dark eyes urging her to place it back down. “Maybe you should take some more of the medication.” The warrior spoke lowly “just to keep it at bay.”

                Andrea smiled at Michonne’s words, dropping her gaze to the floor Michonne watched intently as the woman’s tussled locks fell forward, her lips pursing slightly she gave a slow nod, reaching for the water bottle that had fallen to the floor Andrea unscrewed the cap, frowning at the little amount of liquid left at the bottom of the bottle, realizing a bit of it had probably split “Is this…all we have?” she questioned, Michonne’s brow furrowing in confusion she began to dig through the rest of their bags, her own personal bag followed by the one large bag of supplies.

                When she found that the nearly empty bottle Andrea held in her hands was the end of their water Michonne’s stomach dropped, realizing that while she had been able to hide the few cans of food from the people at Woodbury that had manipulated (and forced) their useful supplies out of her possession she had been easily coaxed into giving the woman tending the clinic all the water they had in an effort to keep her companion cool and hydrated.

                At the way Andrea had looked lying so helplessly lying on the stretcher they’d had her on Michonne hadn’t given it a second thought.

                At the realization they were almost completely out of water Michonne sighed deeply, thinking for a minute she was silent before she suddenly rose to her feet, making her way across the garage Michonne grabbed her katana that sat with their other belongings, slinging it around her broad shoulders she adjusted it over her chest before grabbing the leather vest she had shed the previous night, zipping it over her bright coloured tank top she turned to look at a bewildered Andrea.

                “I’m going to get more.” She announced and turned towards the back door, reaching for the knob she turned back to look at Andrea who had begun to search through her belongings for her gun that had been given back to her when they’d left the suspicious little town, Michonne’s brow furrowing at the sight she shook her head “Not you.”

                Andrea’s head snapped up at her friend’s words, seemingly freezing completely still as she stared at the other woman with widened eyes, soon realizing that Michonne was completely serious her eyes narrowed.

                “And why is that?” Andrea demanded hotly, her eyes narrowing slightly as she fiddled with her gun, clicking the safety off as she bent down to reach into her bag, pulling out the rumpled vest jacket she pulled it over her worn woolen sweater, shrugging it into place on her shoulders she took a few step towards Michonne.

                Andrea narrowed her eyes at her friend and at the look of surprise she received her lips hardened “are you thinking I’ll just slow you down? You know I am just as capable as you.” Andrea bit back at the other woman, the frustration in her features only intensifying as the warrior pressed her lips together in irritation at the blonde’s apparent stubbornness at her proposition.

                “I’m coming with you. We’re a team remember?” Andrea tried again when she didn’t receive an answer, the frustration in her tone cracked into a softer plea as Michonne’s dark eyes drifted up to lock with Andrea’s light ones.

                It wasn’t as though Michonne didn’t understand where Andrea was coming from, Michonne had heard stories over the entire winter about the group that the blonde had been separated from, how Andrea had told her that while she had loved and misses them all, she’d felt that she wasn’t valued in the way she felt she most was most useful and the warrior knew that she had probably hit a nerve.

                Sighing heavily Michonne walked back from the rear door into the middle of the garage, looking at the high windows she’d tried to barricade the previous night in case any walkers had come through before turning to look at her bewildered companion, using one of the boxes to climb up onto Michonne hesitantly peered out the window, brown eyes snapping left and right to see that there was only a lone walker stumbling around outside its clothes hanging off its skinny, rotted form as it eventually fumbled away from the garage and back into the thick treeline.

                Michonne turned back from the window to look at Andrea still standing by the back door, arms crossed over her chest the blonde shook her head slightly, messy curls falling in front of her forehead she slowly looked back up, the annoyed expression on her face replaced with one of disappointment.

                “I don’t want you to get hurt.” Michonne murmured quietly as she adjusted the sheath’s strap across her chest before she zipped up the leather vest up to the top position over her chest, walking briskly back over to where Andrea was still standing by the rear door to the garage which they had barricaded with a few boxes before they had eaten when they’d initially stumbled upon the abandoned service station. At the look of bewilderment she received Michonne turned to look at Andrea more intently, her voice low she swallowed visually before continuing to speak “I don’t doubt you. But you’re not a hundred percent. You still have the cough.”

                Andrea blinked and retracted from where she was standing a touch, suddenly finding her proximity to the other woman just far _too close_. The blonde’s hands shook gently as Michonne stared at her, the almost haunted look in her friends was enough to leave Andrea completely breathless as her chapped lips unknowingly parted, unable to speak even as she realized Michonne had grabbed the two four-litre milk jugs from their shared bag of supplies and was heading over to move the boxes from in front of the door.

                “It’s only about a fifteen minute walk from here to that creek we saw yesterday from the road,” she murmured as she angled her body so she would easily be able to push the boxes. With a few grunts Michonne managed to move them aside, picking up one jug in each hand even as she turned back to Andrea, full lips pressed together before she spoke again “I’m going to check the water to ensure it is not contaminated and I will be back.”

                When Michonne was done explaining what she was going to do Andrea could only manage a small nod even as she brushed some of the hair from in front of her eyes, signifying that she understood even if she couldn’t seem to find anything to say to her. She looked up again to see the warrior fiddling in one of the pockets in her vest, her long fingers grasping the keys to the truck parked just outside in the palm of her hand as she offered them to Andrea.

                “Get as much as you can in the truck.” Michonne stated as she brought her hand to rest gently on one of the blonde’s shoulders, the tips of her fingers resting neatly in between the muscles underneath Andrea’s collar “We’ll get going as soon as I get back.”

                Almost forgetting any of the frustration she had just been feeling Andrea nodded, turning away slightly from her friend Andrea brought her own hand up to her shoulder to cover Michonne’s with a squeeze “Hurry back,” the blonde murmured even as Michonne pushed the last box out of her way, her dark eyes drifting up to see a small, weakened smile spread across Andrea’s face as her gloved hand grabbed the doorknob, only pausing for a moment before she opened the door.

                “Be careful.”

                Michonne nodded and in almost an instant she had disappeared into the overgrown bushes. Andrea watched her even after she left.

xxx

                Andrea’s eyes had remained fixed on the treeline for any sign of Michonne coming back for about five or so minutes after she had vanished signifying she had run into some sort of trouble, sighing almost in relief she turned away slowly from the small window in the back door of the garage, making sure the door was pushed completely shut the blonde turned back to the bags lying in the middle of the abandoned building, sighing at the sight her shoulders dropped as she walked over clutching the rusting keys in her hand tightly, the ends digging into her calloused palm slightly.

                Bending down on one knee Andrea leaned on the hard concrete below her as she managed to get one bag over her shoulder while wriggling Michonne’s bag under her left arm with a few grunts. Steadying herself back onto her feet had not been easy but Andrea refused to fall victim to the new pain beginning to radiate throughout her back and up through her ribcage, pressing her lips together in an attempt to minimize the effect it was having on her.  

                Somehow Andrea managed to make her way over to the back door into the garage, the keys to the truck tangled in between her fingers as the blonde grunted and muttered under her breath at the weight of Michonne’s personal bag balanced underneath her left arm. It was almost annoying even as she finally managed to pull open the heavy steel security door with a small thud as it hit the back wall, Andrea inwardly cringing at the noise and how she hoped breathlessly it would not attract any unwanted attention from any hungry walkers that were most likely concealed amongst the dying trees and fallen leaves that coated the forest floors like a thick, suffocating blanket.

                The air was thick and humid as the blonde finally had managed to stagger over to the back of the pickup that was parked just outside the garage, strategically angled into the overgrown ditch where her companion had parked it in an attempt to look abandoned.

                Andrea’s steady heartbeat had stilled suddenly as the sharp moan of a raven sounded out overhead, the blonde frantically grabbing at her chest with her left hand as she slowly looked up to watch the large black bird jump off the branch it was sitting on to glide off and into the sky, cursing the infernal animal even as it disappeared over the very tops of the trees into the distance.

                After she had managed to lift one of the bags into the back of the Ford Andrea breathed as she looked around the clearing the small service station occupied along the desolated highway, the few long abandoned vehicles scattering the gravel lot and the smashed front windows of the store occupying the lot had provided no sustenance for either her or her companion, probably long since looted by the people that occupied the town they had just fled.

                Bringing her palm to her forehead Andrea massaged at her temples, brushing some of the loose curls back before she blinked a couple of times, urging herself to snap out of the drowsiness that still hung over her consciousness. Pulling their bag of supplies into the bed of the truck with a small thump Andrea grunted as she pushed up the back of the truck to a close, a faint squeak of the rusting metal alerting her to look around to see if it drew any unwanted attention. At the relief the quiet wind rushing through the trees gave her Andrea sighed as she rubbed at her temples again.

                It was no mystery that she was tired, the brief time they had spent within the secure walls of Woodbury had been enough to give Andrea a taste of the safety she craved, the security that the gated community had provided even if it had only been for a short amount of time. She knew deep down that Michonne must know she’s tired but at the same time the blonde trusted her friend’s instincts and the minute she had seen that haunted, terrified look in Michonne’s eyes she knew it had been time to move on.

                The only sound was her breath as Andrea looked up slowly to look at the clear morning sky, the hues of light yellow and pink still laced with the bright blue that would come with the likely crisp morning they were going to face before the heat of the day took over. Listening to her steady heartbeat in her ears Andrea breathed in deeply, allowing her thoughts to bring her back to a time when a morning like this had belonged to early summer mornings out at their parent’s cabin before Amy would sneak into her bed to wake her up nearly an hour before their parents would even be awake to go for a hike or to play a silly game of cards.

                Andrea’s breath hilted when the sound of a gun cocking behind her broke her from the beautiful vision of Amy’s smile.

                In that moment Andrea’s eyes fluttered closed and she secretly was grateful Amy was at peace, that she never had to see how dark the world had become and she smiled dryly, slowly lifting her hands to grab for the gun shoved in the waistband of her cargoes.

                “I don’t have a lot of food.” She muttered calmly even as she felt her hands start to shake “Just…take what you want and leave,” Andrea reasoned, finally getting hold of her gun so that she could drop it to the ground with a soft thud, stomach swimming and heart hammering in her ears before her voice broke off into a harsh whisper “Aren’t we all just…trying to survive out here? Why are you resulting to this!?”

                What she had said must have been humorous because the deep, mocking laughter that answered her caused her blood to run cold at the familiarity that settled in, her lips parting in shock as she turned around slowly, arms raised in surrender before her shocked eyes caught sight of the man standing before her, a few others standing near the road watching the scene intently.

                “Take a chill pill there blondie!” Merle Dixon cackled as he threw his weapon-wielding arm up, spreading his arms wide he took a bold step towards Andrea, still holding a gun in his other hand “No need for that ice queen look! I’m not here to cause any trouble for ya!” he smirked as he took another step closer, inviting Andrea to take a discrete step backwards in response “Do I get that hug yet hmm? How ‘bout a little smooch instead? Just a little one as thanks for draggin’ you and your mute off of ol’ Grimmy’s door?”

                Narrowing her eyes slightly Andrea didn’t hesitate to take another minute step back from the man standing before her, her gaze drifting almost instinctively to the gun that was still lying on the ground “I…thanked you for that.” She breathed, breath hilting as she caught Merle’s steeling eyes also looking at the gun at her feet “…all of you. I appreciate what you did for me.”

                Merle smirked at Andrea’s words before he raised his stumped arm, gesturing to her and Michonne’s bags that were still sitting off to the side of the truck’s back tire “Do ya now?” he asked with a small scoff “don’t really know if my mama ever taught me that runnin’ from people that tried to help me was the same as showin’ thanks.” He muttered lowly, a growing smile spreading across his stubble-covered face as he stared at Andrea intently; looking down briefly at the makeshift blade attached to the arm he had lost “To be crystal clear with ya Blondie, I don’t really know how far you and _Michy_ plan to make it out here.”

                Andrea had had enough.

                Taking a daring step towards him her lips hardened into a firm line and her eyes narrowed, reaching up to clear a single strand of blonde hair from her forehead she leaned down in an effort to pick up Michonne’s bag to start loading the bags into the bed of the truck, her hand just grabbing the strap she scoffed “I’m _flattered_ you came all this way to check up on me, really: I am,” Andrea started “but I have to get going while there’s still light.” Andrea affirmed turning away from Merle and the rest of the Governor’s goons, her face twisted into a frown before she heard Merle’s low chuckle ring out from behind her.

                “I’m afraid that’s not the way it’s goin’ to happen there sweetheart.”

                Andrea froze and the anger at the red neck’s words that had overridden her initial suspicion was instantly replaced with a gnawing panic that caused her breath to immediately hilt.

                At the dirty smirk the man wore and the other knowing smiles his companions were wearing Andrea’s head turned, her light eyes narrowed in suspicion she inwardly tried to control the fear she could feel bubbling beneath the surface, determined not to show how disturbed she actually was.

                “What is this about?” the blonde spoke lowly, making sure to keep her tone strong she quickly dug into her jeans pocket until her hand grasped around the orange capsule that was hidden in her pocket, “is this about the medication?” Andrea spoke out loudly so that all of the men would hear “if it is, here! I don’t need your help!” she wordlessly tossed it towards Merle and the man took a step forward to catch it in his only hand with a triumphant grin he began turning it over in his fingers. Merle’s face broke out into a wider smirk before he looked up from the capsule in his hand to look back at the woman kneeling down to the bags at her feet.

                “Hey now thanks Blondie! This’ll help out a lot! How can we thank you for bein’ so generous, hmm? Are you achin’ for a little lovin’ from Merle? I’m a _real good_ hugger y’know…among other things!” he drawled, opening his arms in almost a mocking embrace gesture Andrea snarled in his direction, turning back to her and Michonne’s bags Andrea relented to ignoring the cackles that she could still hear coming from Merle and The Governor’s men, hoisting Michonne’s bag over her shoulder the blonde grunted as she pushed it into the back of the truck, shaking her head slightly even as she turned to reach for her own bag still on the ground.

                The gnawing suspicion in her gut had once again been replaced by annoyance with the entire situation and with a growing sneer she turned her head over her shoulder to look at Merle who was quickly being joined by the other men that he was with, one of them Andrea now recognizing as being The Governor’s other right-hand man, ‘Martinez’.

                Andrea smiled to herself and shook her head, turning back to the truck “Not even in your dreams Merle Dixon-”

                It wasn’t until Andrea’s pale eyes shifted over to her gun that was lying in the long grass and reached out to retrieve it that she heard the distinct sound of a gun cocking. Andrea felt her blood run cold as she slowly turned, her fingers frozen in mid-air as she took in the filthy smirk on Merle Dixon’s face, her lips parting in shock as her heartbeat sped up and hammered so loudly she was sure that the men could probably hear.

                “Where do ya think you’re goin’ there, sweetheart?”

**Author's Note:**

> This fic has been on fanfiction.net for a few months, deciding to post it here as well. Updates will come soon. Comments greatly appreciated/welcome :)


End file.
